Without Barricades
by withoutbarricades
Summary: In a world without hope, Priscilla Ziegler holds onto it as long as she can stand beside her hero: Reiner Braun. But there are things that seek to get in the lover's way as they stride towards freedom, including the brutal nature of humanity, mortality and the will of primordial cosmic forces.
1. Chapter I: What Lies Ahead

**A/N: first four chapters are pretty bad so maybe skip to chapter 5 if you don't care about missing unimportant things and want to reach smut and plot faster. Quick run down before that: they meet as kids, she lives on streets, they like each other, at one point they stop crossing paths until joining the military. There's no other important shit really, just jump to the good stuff and go from there.**

 **Without Barricades**

 **Chapter I: What Lies Ahead**

 _This is it._ She thought _I've waited for this day for years, and now we've made it._

A young woman stood atop the 50 meter Wall Rose that encircled her civilization. Brilliant emerald eyes were locked on the horizon in what was now dangerous territory after Wall Maria was breached all those years ago – but the danger that was out there was of little concern to her. The thought of confronting a Titan didn't phase her, not one bit. There was something in this world that had proven to be a greater threat to her life than the monstrosities outside the walls.

Man. Mankind itself.

The evils of mankind had made her life a living hell before she joined the military. Anything that happened to her outside the confines of the walls couldn't come close to the torture she faced from the men within. To be eaten by a Titan, crushed between their teeth, could be quick. Going on living while suffering all sorts of abuse from humans was far worse than death. Back then, she would have gladly accepted death over what she got. Her suffering felt like it would never end, but two things kept her going: Returning to her hometown and finding answers to the burning questions she had regarding it, her family and all the people living there – but possibly more important than that was the strength given to her by the first person to show her any kindness.

"What's on your mind, Priscilla?"

Priscilla, Priscilla Ziegler to be precise, turned her head and looked down to her companion that was lazily laying with his hands behind his head and staring up at the stars. He was blonde with golden eyes to match, his features were strong and masculine with a solid, muscular body to top it all off. To Priscilla, it wouldn't be a stretch to think of him as a God more than a mere man.

"Ah... just thinking about what lies ahead," She said softly, "We're Scouts now, Reiner. The future of mankind rests on our shoulders... and it's so exhilarating. The rush I feel when I think about venturing out, it's like a drug."

"Hah!" Reiner barked, sitting up and crossing his arms, "You might just be the craziest person I know. Eren's a lunatic too, but the fact that you're so calm and even excited definitely makes you come off as more of a psycho than even him."

Priscilla's lips curled into a devilish grin and she placed her hands firmly on her hips, her legs in a wide stance. The wind atop the wall was blowing her silver hair around her face, prompting her to brush it back behind her ears. This was mostly a meaningless effort, as the wind would eventually dislodge it and continue to flow in a frenzy, but the brief relief was enough.

"Psycho huh? Gee, thanks." She uttered with more than a hint of sarcasm, followed up with a laugh to keep it lighthearted.

"Hey I'm just calling it like I see it." Reiner replied smugly, his expression matching his tone, "Or maybe you'd prefer it if I kept my big mouth shut?"

"God, you're an idiot..." Priscilla sighed, but again couldn't help by following up her comment with a soft giggle. She turned fully to face him and plopped down in a squat to be at his level, "I always want to know what you're thinking."

"Well that's good. I have trouble keeping my mouth shut and all." Said Reiner, "But you surely know that by now, we've known each other long enough."

"I think I know it better than anyone." She responded, giving him a cute boop on the nose. Reiner glanced away from her for a moment, a little embarrassed by her affectionate display, but at this point he was pretty used to her doing stuff like that. She never seemed to be so damn adorable with anyone else so he ultimately appreciated it.

"Just like I know you better than anyone." He said quietly, booping her nose right back as a playful form of 'revenge.'

"Heh... No doubting that." Priscilla admitted, a hue of pink creeping across her face, but it was so dark that Reiner couldn't see her otherwise obvious blush, "I mean, my hero is the one who should know me best."

"Pfft, hero... Always feels weird when you say stuff like that. I'm just a guy who helped a girl out."

Priscilla hated it when he diminished the impact he had on her life. It was hard to believe he still just didn't get it, or maybe he was intentionally being humble. Either way, she was determined to make him see it from her perspective.

"Are you so dense that you don't remember?!" Priscilla laughed loudly, nearly falling over in her fit, "Maybe I need to remind you..."

* * *

The young girl swiftly dashed through the shadows of the city that was the closest thing she could call 'home.' Darting though the alleyways with a patched up satchel at her side, she was a girl on a mission. Her mission? Survive. Priscilla had grown savvy enough at this point to be able to dodge any Military Police that might stand in her way on her journey to the farmlands, a place she'd try to get to once a week. She had it all planned out, one week to one farm, the next week a different farm... and so on until she had to repeat the cycle.

After creeping out of the city, she ran under the cover of darkness to the farm she planned to raid. It wasn't too far when she ran at her fastest. She crouched behind some bushes that surrounded the farm, observing keenly. The farmhouse had no lights visible, which signified that the residents were asleep. Perfect.

The youth jumped out from behind the bushes and made a mad dash towards where the potatoes were planted. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she dropped down onto all fours and started to dig the vegetables out of the ground, not concerned about getting herself dirty in the slightest... her hands, her feet, her dingy dress... a little dirt was meaningless. It only took a few moments to dig out the potato from the earth, which she swiftly stashed in her satchel, then went to work digging up another one. Even though she was sure the residents were asleep, her heart was pounding in her chest and her breathing was rapid. She had to be quick because really, anything could go wrong at any moment.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing?!"

"Shit!" Priscilla shouted, freezing in a stiff pose.

She heard footsteps behind her and she began to tremble, absolutely terrified of what she would face now.

"So that's why we keep coming up short on our product..." Another voice said, this one was female while the first was male.

Priscilla couldn't bring herself to move, not to turn around and face the residents of the farm or to try and run away. In her fear-induced paralysis she felt a hand grab her upper arm and proceeded to yank her up to her feet and force her to face him. The boy, who seemed to be her age, was glaring at her dangerously with his female companion standing a steps behind him with a similar grimace. Both of them were blonde was just about the only thing her fear filled mind could process at that moment.

"A thief." The boy sneered, keeping a firm grip on her arm to keep her in place.

"Please! I-I'm so sorry!" Priscilla shrieked with tears welling up in her green eyes, "Here... take it back... I screwed up..."

With her other hand, the arm that wasn't in a vice grip, she grabbed the one potato she was able to steal out of her satchel and held it out to the farm boy. He looked down at her offering, pausing a moment before grabbing it away from her.

"So... I have to know. Why the hell are you stealing from us?" He asked darkly, still glaring at her.

"...I needed to..." She replied in a tiny voice, looking down out of shame.

"Bullshit."

"I swear! I-I live on the streets and have nobody! No home to go back to, no bed to sleep in, no food to fill my belly..." Priscilla wailed, bursting into a full blown sob as she continues, "I did it to survive. I swear. And I swear I'll never come back to this place again, I'll stop stealing from you. I swear, I swear..."

Her voice trailed off as she was overcome by her crying. The boy looked her up and down, his expression becoming less harsh.

"You don't believe that lie, do you Reiner?" The girl behind him asked.

"Hm... I can't say it's farfetched. Look at her, Annie." Reiner began, "She's filthy, her hair is in tangles, her dress is torn all over and she doesn't even have any damn shoes on."

"Are you serious?! You're going to take the word of a petty thief?!" The one named Annie shouted, clearly furious with Reiner's changing mind.

"Just let me go... I promise you'll never see me again." Priscilla said meekly, her sobs calming down as she spoke.

"Just... Just hold on a minute. If I let go of you, will you wait before leaving?"

"Huh?" Priscilla blinked in confusion, "I uh... yeah, yeah I'll wait."

Priscilla was baffled at what would come next. Would he go back to the house and bring out the owner? Would the owner have a gun and eager to kill the thief? Was she being tricked?

"Reiner..." Annie growled.

Reiner released Priscilla from his grip, handed the vegetable back to her and strode over to the nearest patch of potatoes and got down on his knees. He quickly dug out four more potatoes and stood back up, grabbing Priscilla's satchel and plopping them inside. Priscilla gasped in disbelief, her eyes darting back and forth between her bag and this boy.

"That should do you for a few days, yeah?" He asked. Priscilla nodded frantically, "I can't just stand here and condemn you to starve. I'm not that kind of guy."

"I... Thank you." Priscilla murmured. What she did next was a shock to them both, but it was almost as if it were an automatic reaction she had no control over. The girl lunged forward and threw her arms around this Reiner kid, squeezing him tightly, "I'll never forget this... a-and I'll repay you someday, I swear! Ten times over!"

"Hey! Get off him you street rat!" Annie shouted, striding over to pull Priscilla off Reiner violently and shove her back, "Now get the hell out of here."

Then, without anymore words, Priscilla turned on her heel and took off into the night as fast as she could. Annie still had that grimace on her face, but Reiner's glare had completely disappeared by now.

"You always have to play the hero, don't you?" Annie sneered.

–

"Heh, you really don't need to remind me." Reiner spoke after Priscilla finished recalling their first meeting, "What can I say, a desperate girl in trouble? A cute one at that. I'm not that much of a jerk."

"And I'm sure you remember what else happened." Priscilla said quietly, her tone becoming darker.

"Yeah. How could I forget?" He responded.

The memory was still all too fresh in Priscilla's mind. She wouldn't bother Reiner by recounting yet another sob story, but her brain decided to play it out all over again anyway...


	2. Chapter II: Young Hero

**Chapter II: Young Hero**

" _The most professional curse ever snarled or croaked or thundered can have no effect on a pure heart."_

A young Reiner was wandering through Trost, carrying his farm product to sell in the city in bag heavily weighed down by the foodstuffs. He'd been through plenty of times so he knew the best way to get around, the quickest ways navigate it and the merchants who would pay the most for what he had to offer. However, that day he decided to take a longer route and explore areas he wasn't as familiar with – seeking out the less taken paths and alleyways. In truth, he was looking for more than just a merchant to sell to that day.

A pained scream rang out nearby, causing him to abruptly stop in his path. He swore he recognized the scream, but more than that was his hero complex compelling him to help someone in need. The scream was definitely female and between the pained screeches he could hear men cackling and saying things he couldn't discern yet. Reiner had to investigate at the very least, so he followed the voices. It didn't take him long to find the source, but he made sure to not reveal himself right away so he could assess the situation before acting. He peered from behind a corner down a dead end alleyway where a group of older boys were beating on a young girl.

"That's-!" He exclaimed, almost too loudly.

The vaguely familiar scream was enough to get him curious, but that messy silver hair was more than enough to confirm it. Many of the boys were standing around watching – and laughing, while one in specific was physically assaulting Priscilla. The boy was kneeling down next to her with his head gripping her by the hair, raising it up to look at him.

"Scream all you want, but an invalid like you won't get any help." He sneered with a sick satisfaction, then looked up at his gang of friends, "Should we let up on her now?" He added with an evil grin, knowing very well what they would say.

"Hell no!" One shouted, "Bleed out the thieving brat!"

With an animalistic growl, the boy gripped her hair tighter and smashed her head against the ground mercilessly. Priscilla wailed in agony again, but weaker this time, like she was losing the will to even just cry for help. Reiner was frozen – he wanted to do something but he hadn't a clue of what. The boy then released her head and stood up. He paused, making Priscilla think it could be over, but he was not done with her yet. He swung his leg and kicked her hard in the ribs, drawing another cry out from the girl. And again. And again.

"HEY!" Reiner shouted, impulsively making himself known.

He slowly stepped into the alley, gulping hard. All the boys froze as and slowly looked his way. The leader looked especially displeased with this disturbance and stood up, while the others remained restraining their prey.

"And who the fuck are you?" The leader asked, slowly approaching Reiner.

"The hell does it matter?" Reiner growled, "Leave the girl alone."

"Ohhh well it looks like our favorite toy has a Knight to defend her!" The leader laughed, briefly turning back to look at Priscilla, "When did you go and make a friend, hm?"

"Run... run away..." She moaned, still obviously in immense pain.

"I think this shit head needs a lesson of his own." The leader suggested, "You two, keep her down and make sure she watches. Rest of you, with me."

Three of his followers stood up while the remaining two kept Priscilla down, with one grabbing her face to keep her from turning away. The four older boys approached Reiner, who stood his ground despite the fear rising within him. With no hesitation, the leader pulled his arm back and punched Reiner in the jaw, completely knocking him on his back.

"No, please!" Priscilla shouted, "He didn't do anything wrong!"

The rest all joined in, with some kneeling down to pummel Reiner with their fists while the rest kicked him hard. Reiner gritted his teeth to keep himself from crying out in pain, he knew he was no match for all these assholes so he just took the abuse in Priscilla's place. Tears filled Priscilla's eyes as she watched the one person who had helped her be beaten until he was bruised and bloody. After a while of punishing Reiner, the leader let up and instructed his friends to do the same.

"Don't ever let me catch you sniffing around us again, you got it?" The psychopath growled.

Reiner looked up at him with pure hatred in his eyes, but refrained from saying anything. He was furious but just level headed enough to know if he provoked them that they might return to harming Priscilla.

"That's what I thought." The leader remarked, "Come on boys, we'll continue this another day."

They all backed off, jeering and snickering about the abuse they had inflicted on a pair of kids. Reiner remained on the ground, breathing heavily as he recovered from his beating. Priscilla, however, immediately jumped up and ran over to him.

"Reiner?!" She exclaimed, "Why did you... Are you... Are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." He breathed, "I had to stop them. What kind of man would I be if I just let them treat you like that?"

"Don't you dare do something so stupid again." Priscilla scolded, tears still in her eyes. Reiner weakly sat up and took a good look at the girl he just saved.

"Your nose..." He muttered, pointing at her face.

Priscilla raised her hand to her nose, feeling around just below it. Looking at her fingers she observed blood upon them. With a soft "hrmph" she grabbed the hem of her dress, ripped off a scrap and gently dabbed the blood dripping from her nose. Reiner's face was bloodied up too, which she of course felt horribly guilty about. She tossed away her bloodied rag and tore off yet another piece of fabric, kneeling down and carefully wiping the blood off her savior's lips and brow.

"What are you doing here anyway?" She asked softly as she cleaned him up.

"Came into town to sell our produce." Reiner explained, "But in truth... I had hoped to maybe see you again. I brought extra to give you in case we crossed paths."

Priscilla froze, speechless and stunned by this revelation.

"You're... so stupid." She finally said, resuming her cleaning.

"Maybe I am." Reiner replied, managing a crooked smile, "You know though... I never got your name."

"Oh, I uh... figured it didn't matter much."

"If we're gonna be friends we oughta know each other's names, right?"

With his face all tidied up, Priscilla tossed away the rag.

"Friends..." She whispered, "Yeah. Okay. Friends. My name is Priscilla Ziegler."

"Reiner Braun." He added.

"Reiner Braun..." She repeated, as if to properly seal it in her memory, "Well Reiner, now I promise to repay you 100 times over! Anything you might need, I'll do my best."

"Anything?" He asked, prompting her to nod rapidly, "...Just smile."

The young girl gasped and gawked at his simple request. That was really the best he could come up with? It was shocking, but she did promise him she'd do anything and she wasn't about to break that promise. With a furrowed brow, she twisted her mouth awkwardly at first as if such an action were completely foreign to her before it slowly morphed into a sweet and grateful smile. Reiner grinned right back at her.

"It suits you." he commented.

"Ahh..." Priscilla covered up her face to hide her sudden blush, "Don't say weird stuff like that!" She added bashfully from behind her palms.

The thoroughly flustered girl kept her face hidden until she felt safe enough to reveal it again. She grumbled and let out a low "harumph" sound as she lowered her hands, looking away from the boy who had helped her out twice now.

* * *

"You still with me? Helloooo?"

Reiner was waving his hand in front of his companion's face, pulling her out of her recollection of their second meeting. She chuckled and scratched her cheek with her index finger.

"Ah, lost in thought." She softly spoke.

The night had been cloudy thus far, hiding the bright moon above. However, the clouds began to part and the light of the celestial body shone down upon the world. Priscilla looked up – she was always fixated on the moon, maybe even enchanted by it. Something about the moonlight invigorated her and made her feel something she couldn't quite place. Pangs of nostalgia definitely accompanied these feelings – before she was left without a home, she could just barely remember spending time with her mother while the moon hung in the sky above. She had a vague recollection of her mother weaving fantastical stories for her before lulling her to sleep.

But that was just a far off memory now, one that seemed to fade more and more each day.

That didn't seem too terrible, however. Priscilla was determined to advance forward and leave the past behind. After all, there was nothing she could do to change or fix it, what truly mattered was the future. By no means could she foresee what lied ahead, but she knew for sure one thing that she wanted in her future : That guy who could be somewhat dense at times that sat beside her now. It wouldn't be a stretch to call her obsessed, but how could she not be? He was her hero after all, as much as he tried to downplay that fact.

Priscilla tore her gaze away from the moon and stood up quickly, offering a hand to Reiner.

"We should probably go, it's getting late." She said, "We need to make sure our bodies are at their peaks at all times from now on, and a good night's rest is key to that."

"You a doctor all of a sudden?" Reiner quipped, reaching up and grabbing her extended hand.

"Smart ass." She replied playfully as she pulled him up to his feet. Reiner stood several inches above her, but it was laughable to think he was in any way intimidating to her, "I just don't want us to become Titan fodder."

"I thought you weren't scared of that?"

"Not scared, but it would be terribly inconvenient, wouldn't it? I plan to live a long life y'know." She clarified.

She so desperately wanted to exclaim that she wanted Reiner by her side in her hopefully long life, but as affectionate as she was towards him, she still hadn't made it clear just how deep her feelings ran. While Priscilla claimed to not be afraid of anything, not even the Titans, confessing her love filled her heart and soul with an undeniable terror. She could only pray to whatever God that may exist that she'd someday find the strength to admit to Reiner how she felt... how she felt for a long time... But tonight wasn't the time.


	3. Chapter III: Moonwind Unicorn

**Chapter III: Moonwind Unicorn**

" _The true me lies still asleep within the sky and somewhere beyond the clouds"_

Priscilla sat propped up against the wall of her "usual" alleyway with her legs drawn up against her chest, her chin resting on her knees. It was dark and rather dank, but this was the closest thing to a home she had at that point. At the very end of the alley was a torn and stained blanket that she would sleep on, convinced that it was better than nothing at all. On the colder nights she used it as a blanket to cover her even though it didn't provide much warmth. Again, it was better than nothing. She looked towards the open street as if she were expecting something, or someone. After staring for a moment, she looked straight forward at the wall again and sighed.

"Yo." A familiar voice said. It was Reiner.

Priscilla hopped to her feet and dusted herself off, she didn't even hear him approach, but she was glad to see him all the same.

"Hi!" She greeted as she skipped over to him. She noticed he was carrying something, but it wasn't the usual farm goods he came into town to sell.

"Got some stuff for ya..." He said, "I managed to take some of Annie's old clothes that she doesn't wear anymore for you. Shoes too."

He held out the lump of fabric and the shoes for Priscilla, whose eyes glittered with wonder and amazement. The dress he brought was clearly in much better shape than the poor rag she wore, and ANY shoes were better than having none at all.

"...Really? For me?" She asked, hesitating to take the offering. Reiner nodded and pushed the clothing at her more. Why would he pull such a sick prank? Priscilla timidly took the items and examined them. The dress was light brown and in pretty good condition, the only thing "wrong" with it that she could see was a small dark stain on the chest area.

"The shoes are a bit beat up, but it's something, right?"

"Wow..." Priscilla marveled, now gawking at the dark brown boots. She clutched the items close to her chest as she felt tears well up in her eyes, "Thank you, thank you so much!"

"Ehh it's nothing really..." Reiner replied dismissively, "That dress of yours wasn't gonna last much longer."

Priscilla laughed softly and placed the shoes down on the ground, holding the dress up to her body. It definitely looked like it would fit, but there was only one way to find out.

"Turn around, please." She requested.

"Huh?" Reiner asked stupidly.

"I need to get changed!" She exclaimed, "Don't look!"

"Oh, OH! Shit, sorry." Reiner apologized and quickly turned around to give her some privacy.

Behind him Reiner could hear cloth shuffling as Priscilla stripped off her old dress and tossed it aside. She quickly wriggled into the 'new' one and smoothed it out, then swiftly slipped her tiny feet into the brown boots. She looked down at herself quite satisfied, they both fit perfectly.

"You can look now." She informed him, a bit bashful sounding.

Reiner spun around and saw Priscilla smiling like a doofus, clearly quite pleased with the gifts he had brought her. She rocked back and forth on her heels with her hands behind her back, staring at Reiner with her big green eyes.

"Weeeeeeellll?" She said.

"What?" Reiner responded.

"How do I look you big dummy?!" She shouted playfully.

"Oh! Well you look great, of course." He answered. Priscilla laughed, causing Reiner to feel a bit embarrassed, "Sorry..."

"It's okay." She assured him, "I'm just teasing."

Now that she had coyly fished the compliment from him, she sauntered over to Reiner. In a bold move, she sprang up onto her toes and kissed him on the cheek.

"W-What?! What was that for?!" Reiner exclaimed.

"The hero deserves a kiss from the princess, don'tcha think?" She grinned, "At least, that's how I think the fairy tales go."

"Ah, so you're a princess, are you?" He said with a smug grin. Priscilla giggled and looked away.

"A girl can dream, can't she? Being a princess beats being a smelly hobo..." She murmured.

* * *

Priscilla awoke in a cold sweat, abruptly sitting up and breathing heavily. It was still dark, surely only a couple hours had gone by since she laid down in the female barracks to sleep. She wiped the sweat from her brow and shuddered.

 _Those nightmares again_

For a long time she had been able to sleep peacefully, but as of late she found that nightmares that used to torment her were rearing their ugly head again. All she could recall was that they were horribly terrifying: The image of her parents leaving her behind, a gargantuan pale creature that burned the world to the ground, leaving it in ruins. The details would escape her as soon as she awoke, but the feeling of unease still remained. Priscilla breathed deeply to try and calm herself down but her heart continued to race even after her breathing stabilized.

"Maybe a walk will do me good..." She whispered to herself, careful not to be too loud and risk disturbing the other girls.

She shuffled out of bed and pulled her boots on quietly. Surely nobody else would be prowling around outside at this hour so she didn't bother to get properly dressed and just stayed in her sleeping clothes. She slipped out of the barracks like a shadow and stepped out into the moonlight. She breathed in deeply – the fresh night air filled her with a euphoric delight that soothed her soul. After breathing deep, Priscilla began her walk – going at a pleasantly steady pace, in no way in any rush. In that moment she hadn't a care in the world...

 _Much better._ She thought.

After not having walked very far, she came to a stop. The lovely moon was perfectly visible in a cloudless sky, flanked by twinkling stars on all sides. A feeling of otherworldly calmness washed over the pale girl, whose hair glimmered like a perfectly cut diamond under the moonbeams that bathed her. Her mouth dropped open as she yawned loudly, stretching her arms above her head as she did so. Her arms dropped back down to her sides limply, leading her into a full-on slouch. From the slouch she ended up sinking down to her knees and plopping into a sitting position.

"I'm getting sleepy again already..." She breathed, "I think I'll just... relax out here a bit though..."

She fell over with a soft "thunk" and curled up tightly. Again she vaguely recalled the lullabies that her mother used to sing, which ushered her back into the realm of slumber...

* * *

Priscilla stood proudly after slipping into her Cadet jacket, she thought she looked pretty cool with the crossed swords emblem on her back. The rest of the uniform all went together nicely as well – a white button down with matching white pants, which had a brown "skirt" around her hips. Long brown boots came up just above her knees and she sported various straps across her thighs. Swelling with satisfaction, she took in a deep breath before assuming a wide stand and bending over to reach for her toes. She straightened back out and repeated this action, eager to limber up before her first day of training.

"Heh, not a bad view..."

Priscilla shot back up when she heard the voice behind her and quickly spun around, ready to attack whoever had sneaked up on her. She had been conditioned to always be on the defensive when it came to her backside being exposed where any threat could approach her from behind. However, her aggression melted away upon seeing who it was. It was someone she hadn't seen in quite some time, he looked more mature than the last time they met, but she knew exactly who it was.

"Reiner?!" She asked breathlessly, "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think? I enlisted." He stated, "Same with Annie and our buddy Bertolt."

"Ah... I see, that's great!"

Priscilla was more excited than she should have been. Joining up with the military was a wonderful enough opportunity, but now her hero was there too. What could be better? Her mind began playing out all sorts of shenanigans that they might get into, like helping each other train and even killing Titans together. Although, that last idea could only work if they were both Scouts. Priscilla was intent on joining the Scouts, but she had no idea if that was Reiner's plan. She could only hope it was.

As she fantasized about what kind of adventures they could have, she began to focus on how he had changed since she last saw him. He was taller now with a more chiseled face, he had also put on some muscle. A blush crept across her pale face, imagining how strong he must be. She was sure he could easily pick her up and toss her around like a doll if he wanted to, which she wouldn't mind at all.

"Hey, you in there?"

Reiner snapped his fingers in front of Priscilla's face, effectively pulling her out of her fantasy.

"What? Yeah, sure, I'm here! Totally! No doubt!" She responded awkwardly, punctuating her statement with an equally as awkward laugh.

"If you zone out like that on the battlefield you'll be food for Titans in no time." He joked.

"Err, guess you're right about that..." She agreed sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head, "I'll keep my wits about me, don't you worry."

"Good..." He smiled, leaning in closer, "Would be a damn shame to lose a cutie like you."

 _Oh FUCK_ She screamed internally _Not only is he handsome as all hell but he's smooth as shit too... I need to get a grip._

 _But I don't think I can help myself..._


	4. Chapter IV: Pathétique

**Chapter IV:** **Pathétique**

 _So don't let me become the one you love  
'Cause I'll just take your blood and use you up  
I know it's tempting to jump off the edge and fly  
But this is not a dream  
So don't let me become the one you love _

"Eh?"

Bertolt stood above the sleeping Priscilla who had conked out in front of the female barracks the night before. She was curled up in a ball with a look of relaxed contentment on her face and laid as still as a statue. Bertolt was hesitant to wake her from her peaceful slumber, but if he let her continue she'd surely miss what remained of breakfast.

"Priscilla..." He said quietly, gently nudging her with his foot, "Come on, wake up..."

Priscilla gasped and sat up after the little nudge. She looked around frantically, mildly confused as to where she was. It's not as if this was the first time it had happened though, but it always left her bewildered and disoriented to wake up so far removed from her bed. Bertolt squatted down next to her and smiled pleasantly.

"I uh, I must have..." Priscilla began, but then shook her head, "No, there's no excuse for this behavior... Did I miss breakfast?"

"No, it started not too long ago." Bertolt informed her, "Come on, I'm sure Reiner is wondering where you are."

Bertolt held out his hand and Priscilla graciously took it so that he could help her up. Bertolt was always quite kind to her, in fact he was the first one she grew to like and trust after Reiner, but he was no hero. More like the hero's sidekick if anything. Still, she was fond of him and enjoyed his company. The two of them made their way to the mess hall where the rest of the 104th had gathered to chow down. The food wasn't anything fancy, just some vegetable stew with a side of potatoes as meat was scarce and was reserved for the higher ups – especially those of high standing in the Interior. The food they had was pretty much the same everyday, but Priscilla was always grateful for anything she got.

"Yo!" Reiner shouted as Bertolt and Priscilla approached, "Where ya been?"

"I overslept a bit." Priscilla said as she sat down next to him.

"I'll get both of us some food." Bertolt offered, turning on his heel to fetch breakfast for himself and Priscilla. Reiner had already gotten his own.

"What a guy!" Priscilla laughed, but her attention quickly returned to Reiner as it often did. She laid into him and squirmed a bit, never one to be subtle when she sought his attention "Ohhh Reiner... I'm _so_ _sore_ , mind giving me a massage?"

She looked up at him and batted her thick eyelashes coquettishly with a flirty smile spread across her lips. She urged him on by repeatedly humming 'Hmm? Hmmmm~' until she got some sort of response. Reiner let out a rough scoff.

"Would I say no to you?" He replied, then leaned in close and added, inaudible to anyone else, " _Princess?_ "

"One of these days I'm sure you will." She teased mischievously, drawing a bark of laughter out of Reiner.

"Sure, sure..." He dismissed, "Now turn around."

The two of them each swung one leg over the side of the wooden benches they sat on so that the table portion was to their right, giving him easy access. Reiner cracked his knuckles as Priscilla eagerly awaited the much needed massage, but it was more than just that. In fact, her muscles weren't even that sore, she just looked for any excuse she could find to feel his touch. He didn't make her wait long before placing his strong hands on her mildly stiff shoulders and kneading into them deeply. A chill ran down the girl's spine – it felt so damn _good_ the way he made her melt like butter. Her eyes closed and she let out a content sigh, almost a moan, as he worked her muscles.

"Yeesh, you two..."

Bertolt had returned and was shaking his head at the over the top display before him. He held a tray in each hand that contained a bowl of stew and the potatoes, along with the utensils to go with them.

"Jealous?" Reiner said mockingly, "If you want a massage too, buddy, just ask."

Priscilla giggled and reluctantly pulled away from Reiner, she knew she had to eat up before the food got cold.

"We can get back to that later." She suggested.

The two of them readjusted their positions so that they were facing the table again. Reiner went back to his half eaten meal and Bertolt placed one of the trays in front of Priscilla before sitting down across from the touchy-feely pair.

"Why you so sore anyway?" Reiner asked after taking a chomp out of his potato – he was one to talk with his mouth full.

"She was sleeping on the ground outside." Bertolt quickly ratted her out before Priscilla could speak for herself.

"What? _Again?_ " Reiner marveled after swallowing, "Still got some feral blood in you?"

"...Nightmares. I went for a walk to clear my head and just kind of..." Priscilla's voice trailed off as she admitted what had happened, "Hmph. Doesn't matter." She added coldly, focusing on her food.

"Hey," Reiner began, poking his big nose into her personal space, "You know that if you can't sleep you can always share my bed."

"Oh me, oh my..." Priscilla cooed, "You know we'd both be reprimanded for that. I'd hate for you to get in trouble on my account."

"Pfft, what's the worst they could do?"

* * *

It had been about a year since the 104th began training. Priscilla mostly kept to herself, save for her psychotic attachment to Reiner. Her trust in people was understandably shaken by her childhood and early adolescence so she was wary about people getting close to her. Reiner had been encouraging her to try and open up to others, introducing her to Bertolt specifically, but he didn't want to force her into too much too soon either. Priscilla put on a surface level of cool, calm and collected, but he was well aware of the fragility she housed inside.

That night was similar to most of her nights: solo training after dark. Priscilla was determined to strengthen her mind and body by spending even her 'downtime' training.

"You're gonna work yourself to death." She heard from behind her. Priscilla looked over her shoulder and saw none other than Reiner approaching her.

"Discipline is crucial." She responded swiftly, "If I don't discipline myself, what good am I here?"

"And slapping around a training dummy every night is gonna harden you up?" He smirked.

She couldn't deny that he had a point there.

"OK, what do you propose then?" She asked, turning to face him with her hands on her hips.

"Spar with me." He more than spoke – it was like a command.

"Heh..." Priscilla chuckled, eyes narrowed, "Sure. I can take you."

The two walked towards each other, both brimming with confidence. Both so sure that they would conquer the other. But in the end, there could only be one victor. Reiner and Priscilla raised their fists and took on a defensive stance. Priscilla's heart was racing and adrenaline was pumping through her veins, fueling her as if it were a stimulating drug. While she had indeed grown stronger, Reiner definitely had the height and weight advantage, since he'd grown as well in the year gone by, but she was certain her nimble dexterity could give her her own unique edge in this fight.

However, before she could even launch her attack, Reiner struck. He used a sweeping kick to knock her down on her back, knocking the wind out of her lungs. He lunged down, flipped her over and pinned her down while she was on her stomach. He then swung his muscular arm around her neck and successfully put her into a headlock – he had won, but more importantly, Priscilla has lost... pathetically at that. The confidence she had mere moments ago was shattered.

"Do you surrender?!" He asked, cheeky as all hell.

"Ngghh!" She choked out, trying frantically to pry his arm away, "F-Fine! I surrender! Let me GO!"

" _Say please._ " He sneered.

"Ugh!" Priscilla grunted as she writhed beneath him, "... _Please._ " She added in a defeated whimper.

She could hear Reiner laughing as he got off of her, clearly quite satisfied with himself. Priscilla was as red as a tomato with utter embarrassment, she hadn't felt this stupid in a long time. This humiliation didn't discourage her entirely though, in fact it made her want to be better. Better than anyone else. That way, maybe Reiner would notice her as more than just a friend or comrade.

"We're gonna do this every night," Reiner spoke after a silence, "Every night until you can consistently beat me."

* * *

"Hey..." Reiner said breathlessly after another intense training session. They'd been doing this every night for months at this point.

"Hmm?" Priscilla replied, equally as out of breath. They were so exhausted that they were plopped down flat on their backs next to each other on the ground.

"What do you look for in a guy?"

"Eh?!" She shrieked, sitting up fast and stiff, "Where... where did that come from?!"

"I get the feeling you'd want to settle down one day, maybe pop out a few kids. Once we slaughter all the Titans, of course. So I can't help but wonder..."

"I uh, I haven't thought about it..." She lied.

"Not even a vague idea?"

Priscilla grunted and crossed her arms tightly, topping it all off with a frown. She very much wanted to scream that her ideal man was him, that she'd love to spend her whole life with him, but something held her back. So, she decided to do her best to answer him without being too obvious.

"Well.. he'd have to be strong. Mentally and physically. Brave. Handsome, of course. Kind. Good sense of humor would be nice too. Tall is very good as well..." She rattled off a few generic traits that also happened to apply to Reiner, "He must also be dedicated and loyal. No liars either. I wouldn't want any secrets between us."

"Sounds like you got high standards for men." Reiner quipped, "I doubt there's a guy who can live up to all those things."

 _What a fucking idiot he is..._ She thought.

"I'll try not to get my hopes up then," She stated rather flatly. Priscilla then decided to shift the subject off to her, laying back down and rolling over to face Reiner and giving him a playful poke in the ribs, "Your turn!"

"Eh?" He asked, turning his head towards her.

"Tell me about your dream girl." She clarified, annoyed a bit.

Reiner laughed softly. Priscilla held her breath as she prepared to see if she fit his criteria or not. She wasn't sure what she'd do or say if she fit the bill, but she hoped to God she did.

"That's easy." He began with an air of confidence and certainty, "I want to marry Christa."

He kept his eyes focused skyward, but Priscilla quickly rolled away from him onto her other side. Her confidence was smashed into millions of pieces yet again, but this was far worse than just having her ass kicked in a little sparring match. In no way could she compare to Christa at all – every last Cadet referred to her as a benevolent Goddess, something Priscilla definitely was not. Hell, she was quite fond of Christa too, she was the one who helped Priscilla when she had trouble with their horse training. Priscilla could remember vividly how her horse was uncooperative and ended up throwing her from it's back, and Christa was the only one who was able to calm it enough for Priscilla to be able to ride it. Reiner knowing exactly WHO he wanted was far more soul crushing than if he described the qualities of a girl that she was nothing like. This just squashed all chances she had in her mind. She doubted she would be able to stop vying for his attention though, even if now it was in vain, which made her feel truly pathetic. Reiner noticed she had turned away, so he rolled over to face her with a curiously cocked eyebrow.

"Something the matter?" He asked, raising a hand and giving her a light shake on the shoulder.

"Just tired. Tired is all." She lied, "And uh, my head's starting to ache a bit. I should go."

Heartbreak felt like an over dramatic way to describe the situation, but Priscilla was far beyond just crushed knowing that her chances were officially zero. She and Reiner both had their ideal partner set in stone, but unfortunately for Priscilla, things didn't match up the way she had hoped. She officially had confirmation that they weren't compatible. She rose to her feet and began to shuffle away, her limbs moving rather limply as if her physical being had been beaten down as well. Reiner propped himself up on his elbow and watched her meander away, curious about her sudden shift in demeanor. Suddenly, Priscilla came to a halt and looked over her shoulder at Reiner.

"It's..." She began, with a forced smile, "It's good that you know what you want. I hope you can get it."

* * *

" _Oh me, oh my..."_

 _Reiner's eyes shot open to see Priscilla leaning over him. He could tell right away that something was amiss – they weren't in his bed or any building at all for that matter, but there was nothing that indicated they were outdoors either. It was a vast white void surrounding them in all directions. Reiner was laid flat on his back while she was sitting on his pelvis – both of them nude. His eyes were locked on her face, which bore an expression of both lust and a touch of sinister delight. The way they were positioned plus the way he could feel her body was suggestive enough of what was happening here._

" _How amusing. You want to marry Christa, but I'm the star of your dirty dreams? What a greedy boy you are."_

" _Nnghh..." Reiner grunted, "I can't help it."_

" _Am I supposed to believe you don't think about this in your waking hours?" She replied smugly, "Our dreams reflect our subconscious thoughts, fears... and desires."_

 _The pale nymph leaned in closer, her breasts laying against his own chest as she sensually nuzzled her face into his strong neck. Priscilla dotted kisses up and down his neck and eventually progressed to gentle bites. Reiner closed his eyes and gritted his teeth – even though it was a dream, her body enveloping his cock felt incredibly real. His hands traveled to her strong yet soft thighs and massaged them, causing her to dig her nails into his chest and moan. Priscilla raised her head up, placing her lips right next to Reiner's ear._

" _You're gonna have to make a decision, darling... You can't have it all," She whispered, "Marry the good girl but keep me as your whore? I don't think so..."_

 _Reiner grabbed Priscilla by the arm and yanked her away, meeting her eye to eye._

" _Don't talk like that." He said with a dead serious tone, "You're not a whore, you're far from it. Much more than that to me."_

" _Hm." Priscilla hummed, her eyes drifting away from his gaze, "If that's true you should really let me know. Before it's too late."_

" _It's not... that simple..."_

* * *

Reiner woke with a start, breathing fast and heavy. He didn't have to look to tell his cock was rock hard, he could feel it throbbing beneath his sheets. He sat up to confirm that he was alone and looked around, everyone else in his barracks seemed to have gotten up and left already, which left him in a perfect position to jerk off. His hand couldn't compare to the hot, wet hole he had experienced in his dreams on more than one occasion, but it would have to do...


	5. Chapter V Part I: Deep Longing

**Chapter V Part 1: Deep Longing**

The hot sun was beating down upon the hard earth that Priscilla was walking along. There were no other living beings for what seemed like miles and she was missing some key things: her Scout jacket, 3DMG, her weapons and flares. She certainly wasn't fit to be walking around in Titan territory, but that's where she found herself. Her mouth was dry and her stomach was painfully empty, not having eaten or drank anything for days – she wasn't even sure about how long she'd been out there by herself. More miraculous than her not dying due to lack of food or water was that she not only hadn't been devoured by a Titan, but rather that she hadn't seen one at all. The area outside Wall Rose was known to be dangerous, but no misfortune had come to greet her on death's doorstep.

 _Traitor_

The word echoed painfully in her mind, it was one of the last things anybody had ever said to her before she was cast out – thrown away like the garbage she truly believed herself to be. There was no reason to have any pride now, no reason to wear the title of "traitor" like some sick badge of honor. All that awaited Priscilla was a lonely drawn out death, and a life lived with no legacy to leave behind. Despite having no need for pride anymore, she firmly believed in what she did, even though it put her where she was now. It was selfish, very selfish, but when it came down to it... she was more than happy to throw humanity aside for the sake of her darling.

But her darling had forsaken her. Her hero had left her behind. Without him, all she wanted was to die.

Priscilla's limbs were weak from the days and nights walking without rest on top of her being malnourished and dehydrated. Her legs grew weaker with every step she took until they eventually gave out and she fell to her knees. Surely death was mere moments away from reaping her soul now – and she couldn't be happier about it. With the last of her strength, she lifted her head up to gaze at the horizon, as she had been marching while staring at the ground for most of her journey. Her green eyes widened in shock and euphoria when she saw a figure in the distance.

 _A Titan..._ She thought.

"Hah..." She laughed weakly, "So, this is how it will end after all..."

Priscilla breathed heavily as she watched the giant approach her – it was far from her but she estimated it to be a 15 meter class at the very least. Could very well be taller if it were an abnormal, but if that were the case, why would it be moving so slowly and methodically? As the giant lumbered closer at a painfully slow speed, Priscilla was grew impatient.

"Well?! What are you doing?! Hurry up!" She screamed at it like a woman gone mad, "Eat me already! You big, stupid bastard... Eat me! EAT ME!"

She let out a long animalistic scream as the monster grew closer to her. The sun was almost directly behind it so it's features were completely shadowed, but what did that matter anyway? Death is death, who cares what it looks like when it takes you? She kept screaming until she was red in the face and utterly out of oxygen, leaving her at her lowest and weakest point. With no air left in her lungs, her eyes rolled back and she fell forward onto the ground – unconscious. The Titan was not deterred and kept on it's path towards her body. However, once it was upon her body, it stopped. It did not immediately grab her limp body, break it and crush it between it's teeth. No... it knelt down before her, as if examining Priscilla. After a moment of what could only be called introspection, the Titan carefully grabbed her seemingly lifeless body in it's massive hand and turned around to make it's way back to where it came.

* * *

Training in Winter always had it's risks, but mother nature turned out to be a real bitch that season. During their intensive survival training, Priscilla and Reiner had broken off from the rest in their group and were now hopelessly lost in a crippling blizzard. Trying to be a real manly man, Reiner had decided to go after a deer he spotted to try and feed the 104th some much needed meat. However, once the blizzard kicked up, the deer was lost and so were Reiner and Priscilla, as she of course tagged along. Their thick, fluffy coats protected their bodies to the best of their ability, but the cruel winds were unrelenting. Frost strung their faces as it whipped rapidly around, which also made it quite difficult for them to even keep their eyes open. Not that their vision mattered much, the blizzard was so thick that they could barely see three inches in front of their faces. Reiner was leading Priscilla along by the hand, hoping maybe his body could shield her from the punishing winds. The fact of the matter was that the winds were shifting direction at random, so him shielding her wasn't much of a help.

"I can't believe I let you do something so stupid..." Priscilla said between shivers.

"I can't believe I let you come with me to do something so stupid." Reiner retorted without looking back, but still holding onto her hand tightly, "You shouldn't have come with me."

"Well, look at it this way..." Priscilla began, "If we die at least we won't be alone when we do perish."

"We won't die." Reiner spoke, adamant in his resolve, "Not here, not no-"

Reiner's speech was cut off, followed by a startled shout and suddenly his hand released Priscilla's and he disappeared from sight. Priscilla froze in place – if the storm wasn't too harsh on the eyes, they would have shot open in shock.

"R-Reiner?!" She shouted, staring into the blinding whiteness.

"Down..." She heard him call from a short distance somewhere below her, "Steep drop... be careful."

He sounded like he was in pain, which made Priscilla determined to get to him. She got down on all fours and started feeling her way along the ground, eventually coming to the drop he had alerted her of. It wasn't straight down, but sloped, yet as Reiner said it was still quite steep. Without much thought, Priscilla shifted so that was sitting and inched closer to the edge. As carefully as she could she scooted forward and swiftly slid down the slope on her bottom. It didn't take long to reach Reiner's position, and she was careful not to collide with his body.

As Priscilla had expected, Reiner was injured. He was sitting in the snow and clutching one of his legs, groaning in pain. Priscilla panicked and hovered over him to try and get an idea of what was wrong.

"Your leg... is it broken?" She asked with her voice shaking, both from the cold and from fear.

"I think so..." He grunted in response, "I don't think I can walk."

"What?!" She exclaimed.

"Priscilla..." Reiner began, looking towards her and locking eyes, "I'm done for. Go on without me, there's no need for both of us to die out here."

"Are you insane?!" She shouted in response.

Little by little the blizzard actually started to calm, but that didn't matter if Reiner couldn't walk. It could start back up at any moment just as vicious, or it could get even worse than it had been.

"Just go! Get out of here!" He yelled at her in a rage. Priscilla was taken aback as he almost never used such a tone with her.

"No..." She responded defiantly, "I have to do something... I-I'll figure something out!"

She stood up and circled around her hurt companion. The first and only idea that came to her was to hook her arms under his and drag him through the snow. It wasn't ideal, but she had no choice. Priscilla scurried behind Reiner, slipping her arms under his and lifting with all her strength. The clouds that plagued the night were starting to thin as she pulled him along slowly. She groaned softly as she struggled to drag him along, but she could feel her strength wearing thin.

"You can't keep this up!" He shouted at her, "Just leave me here and save yourself!"

In her weakened state, she set Reiner back down flat and collapsed onto her knees. Beneath her coat her chest was heaving up and down due to her frantic and rampant emotional state on top of the physical exertion. By now the winds were calm and the clouds dispersed, allowing the light of the moon to grace the earth below.

 _I feel..._ Priscilla thought, looking upwards at the pale orb, _Powerful..._

The girl's body felt like it was tingling all over as the luminescence that pierced the endless night sky washed over her. Her previous exhaustion and desperate emotions seemed to melt away in mere seconds, replaced with unwavering confidence and strength. She stood up once more, feeling more invigorated than she had their entire journey.

" _This is not the end._ " She declared in a low voice, almost like the growl of a vicious animal.

She grabbed Reiner, completely lifting up his body and swinging him across her shoulders. Reiner was speechless – she was struggling to drag him just moments ago, and now she was bearing the full weight of him on her shoulders. Priscilla took a lumbering step forward with her eyes focused on what was before her, scanning ahead for any sign of shelter. All of her senses felt heightened on top of her burst of strength. She continued to move forward, letting out a grunt with every step she took. She carried him through a thick patch of dead trees, barely feeling any resistance from the inches of snow on the ground. After several minutes of this, she spotted a cliff face in the distance that looked like it had some sort of cave entrance at the base. Her nostrils flared and she set off with even more vigor.

 _What the hell is this?_ Reiner thought as he was carried along like a doll.

Using a final burst of strength, Priscilla sped up her pace and hurried into the cave, where she set Reiner down before collapsing face first onto the hard ground. Reiner was able to lift himself into a sitting position and looked down upon his comrade with an equal amount of incredulity and and hint fear. It was like she became something not quite human. Her body shook, but not from the cold, the sheer power she exerted was overwhelming to her and had left her weak again.

"You wanna try explaining that...?" He said slowly. Priscilla raised up her head and torso, supported by her forearms.

"Must have been adrenaline or something." She replied, quite shaken by the experience herself, "And..."

 _And the power of love._

"And?" Reiner pressed.

"...Nothing." She dismissed as she rose to her feet and quickly changed the subject, "If we're gonna last here through the night though we're gonna need a fire."

Priscilla reached into her coat, shuffling around a bit and pulled out a small knife. It was pretty standard issue for the soldiers to be carrying one at all times. She looked outside the cave entrance and could see those trees that they had traveled through not too far away, perfect for collecting some tinder.

"You're going back out there?!" Reiner exclaimed.

"I have to, we'll freeze if I don't." She replied sternly while keeping her eyes set on the trees, "I won't have to go far... but I need to go now, the wind is already starting to pick back up."

"Priscilla..." Reiner breathed, reaching out with one hand and grabbing onto her pant leg, "You better come back."

"Or what?" She said with a smarmy tone and looking down at him, "You're in no condition to do _anything_ with that leg."

"Hmph..." Reiner grunted. After a moment of holding on, he reluctantly released her pant leg from his firm grip, "Hurry back." He added quietly.

Priscilla nodded at him with a determined look on her face. Without any words, she took off out of the cave in a sprint to try and outrun the returning storm. Reiner watched her as she ran away with worry growing inside of him when he noticed the snow being whipped around by the wind once more. With a defeated sigh, he laid back and stared at the ceiling of the cave. All he could do was wait now and he felt utterly useless for it. It was a feeling he truly hated.

"This isn't what the hero does." He uttered to himself with contempt, "I'm supposed to rescue _her_..."

* * *

Reiner had lost track of time by the time Priscilla returned. It wasn't too long, but the storm was definitely back in full swing when she wandered back into the cave. He sat up as she approached with an arm full of sticks of varying size and chunks of tree bark. Priscilla dropped her spoils onto the ground and knelt down, arranging them in a neat pile and separating some from the main cluster. She then took two decently sized sticks and started roughly rubbing them together in the middle of the tinder pile. The wood wasn't fully dry as it had been battered by snow, but after having come this far, losing hope was not an option. Priscilla scowled while she focused on her work, maybe if she glared at the sticks enough it would cause a quicker reaction. Reiner watched intently as well. Priscilla came to a complete frenzy in her desperation to get the fire started, huffing as she worked. Then, it came, the spark that would get them through the night.

"I did it..." Priscilla said, somewhat amazed in herself.

The rest of the wood began to burn healthily. The second 'pile' she had set to the side was to feed the fire later as it burned through the tinder they had started with. Both Reiner and Priscilla sighed in unison as the fire crackled in front of them.

"Well shit," Reiner said, somewhat amused, "Guess we're gonna make it after all."

"And you wanted me to leave you behind..." Priscilla sneered at him.

"Okay, okay, bad judgment call on my part..." He replied while waving his hands in front of him. He noticed that Priscilla was staring into the fire, like she was avoiding looking at him, "Hey." He added to grab her attention.

"Huh?" She looked up at him.

"You're pretty amazing, you know that?" He asked. His mouth curled into a lovingly sincere smile, an expression he seldom wore. Priscilla's face started to go pink as she returned a sweet smile. She couldn't conjure up any sort of relevant words to reply with, so she thought it best to move on.

"We should rest now." She suggested sternly, crawling around the fire to Reiner's side.

"Not gonna argue with that." He responded and promptly laid back flat. His broken leg wouldn't allow him to lay on his side without making him more uncomfortable and risk damaging it up even more. Priscilla looked a bit concerned though, taking a minute to think before she spoke up again. She worried the fire wouldn't be enough, especially since they'd be sleeping. It could go out at any time and she wouldn't be awake to add more wood to keep it burning.

"Do you remember what they taught us about staying warm in the extreme cold?" Priscilla asked, "Before the first winter we trained in."

"Uhh..." Reiner drawled. Priscilla sighed heavily.

"I assumed it was something you'd remember..."

"Just tell me already." He groaned.

"The best way to stay warm is to strip down completely and then pile our clothing on top of us." She explained, "Skin to skin contact is the ideal way to share body heat."

Without even a moment's pause Reiner broke out into a fit of laughter. Priscilla raised an eyebrow and scowled at him – she was dead serious and he just didn't buy it at all. Of course this wasn't strictly about staying warm, the idea of curling up naked next to him was something that she longed for with every fiber of her being, and now she had the perfect excuse for it.

"You gotta be kidding, you propose we get naked and cuddle up?" He asked once he was able to control his laughs.

"I'm not kidding! This is a proven fact." She explained, "Look, nobody has to know. We'd just be doing everything we can to stay alive out here, nothing weird."

"Nobody has to know? What if I want to brag?" Reiner smugly asked. Priscilla crossed her arms and countered him with her own brand of smugness.

"You can only tell Bertolt." She replied.

Giving in to his simple 'demand' was more than good enough for her. It wasn't exactly a bad or embarrassing situation for her, she was quite satisfied that her suggestion worked. Staying alive was enough of a motivation but her ulterior motive was fueled by her sexual attraction to him. What she didn't know though, was if it would become more than just laying next to each other for warmth. Would if be wise to do such a thing in their present situation? Maybe this could at least open the door for something in the future if nothing happened right then. Regardless, this was a win for both parties involved.


	6. Chapter V Part II: Venus Obsequens

**Notes: Woo I feel like I'm very late in posting this, but better late than never eh? The much anticipated (LOL) part 2 of chapter 5. When we last left off, our heroes were stuck in the frigid wastes with few options to survive. Priscilla's idea is skin to skin contact, my oh my, where could that lead? Also I would like to mention chapter 6 is taking a long time. Constant rewrites of different scenes and then still proofreading once I'm satisfied with how and what is written. It is a very dark chapter and I don't know just HOW dark I want to make it. It is also the longest chapter yet and I don't know if there's a logical spot where I could split it. Well, enjoy the depravity that is to come.**

 **Chapter V Part 2: Venus Obsequens**

 _When you touch me  
_ _I die just a little inside  
I wonder if this could be love, this could be love  
Cuz you're out of this world  
Galaxy, space and time  
I wonder if this could be love, this could be love_

"You can only tell Bertolt." She replied.

Giving in to his simple 'demand' was more than good enough for her. It wasn't exactly a bad or embarrassing situation for her, she was quite satisfied that her suggestion worked. Staying alive was enough of a motivation but her ulterior motive was fueled by her sexual attraction to him. What she didn't know though, was if it would become more than just laying next to each other for warmth. Would if be wise to do such a thing in their present situation? Maybe this could at least open the door for something in the future if nothing happened right then. Regardless, this was a win for both parties involved.

The pair started to undress, first shedding their coats and snow boots. Priscilla then unbuttoned her shirt and shook it off, with her bra following shortly after. Reiner continued to remove his shirt but his pace slowed to a crawl when she exposed her maddeningly perfect tits. The young man even came to a complete halt once they were in full view and Priscilla wasn't entirely paying attention. He returned to his task before she had a chance to take notice of him staring at her ample breasts though. Once Reiner got his shirt off, however, he was faced with an obstacle.

"Hey, could you help me with the pants?" He asked, "Can't really do it myself with my leg."

"Ah, yeah sure." Priscilla agreed.

She had to work quickly but carefully with undressing him below the waist. She first removed his belt and swiftly unbuttoned his trousers, cautiously sliding them off. Then came his boxers, which would be easier since they were a looser fit than the pants. Priscilla removed them without hesitation and set them aside. She only took a moment to take in the full view of his bare body, doing her best not to linger on his exposed cock for too long. She then returned to finish herself, swiftly shimmying out of her pants and removing her panties as well. Priscilla then gathered up all their discarded clothes, positioned herself next to Reiner and piled them on top of their naked bodies.

Once they were covered, Priscilla shifted so that she laid on her side facing Reiner, where she extended her arm and wrapped it around his broad chest. She pressed her body close to his and clung tightly as she let out a shuddering breath, which she hoped he would interpret as a shiver from the cold and not a response to her burning desire. She began to imagine all the different scenarios that this could evolve into if she were bold enough – jacking or sucking him off seemed like the most realistic options given their present situation. The only problem now was that her exhaustion was fully catching up with her and now that they were as safe as they could be, her body was craving sleep more than anything else at this point.

Priscilla's eyes fell closed and she was asleep before her mind could form any further dirty desirable thoughts. Reiner looked over at her – his thoughts weren't exactly innocent either here. From the moment she got her tits out he felt all his blood rushing downwards, but now that her beautiful bare body was up against his he was fully hard. Thankfully there was no way for Priscilla to know that at this point, but there wasn't anything he could do about his raging hard on without waking her up either... but damn if he wasn't imagining her lips wrapped around it and sucking on it until he blew his load all over her pretty face. Just the image in his mind of her big green eyes looking up at him with his cum all over her was driving him insane. If he kept thinking about it he'd surely explode, literally, without even touching his dick.

 _Stop thinking about it and go to sleep_ he told himself, repeating it over and over in his head, _Just fucking sleep._

–-

Priscilla awoke suddenly, drawing in a huge and quick breath as her body tensed up. She held it in for a moment as she recall the nightmares that invaded her mind yet again. An enormous giant, her parents leaving, the feeling of excruciating pain all over that seemed all too real to just be a dream – in fact she could practically feel her body tingling as if recovering from a recent painful experience. Priscilla released her held breath and the tension that had taken over her entire body.

Once her head was out of the clouds of her nightmare, she took notice of something: the fire was barely holding on. Her initial instinct was to leap over to it immediately, but she didn't want to wake Reiner, who looked very peaceful even though he must still be in a great amount of pain. With that in mind, she carefully crawled out from under their clothes and over to the fire. She grabbed the kindling she set aside earlier and added it to the blaze. The fire began to come back to life now that it had more fuel than just burned ashes. Priscilla sighed contently, it turned out to be a good thing that she woke up when she did, otherwise she may have not caught the fire before it completely went out. Although, their body heat was probably doing most of the work now.

Priscilla looked back over to her companion, who was not disturbed from his slumber by Priscilla moving about. She could recall in almost perfect detail what he looked like beneath all that fabric. He was so damn muscular all over that she could hardly believe it, but not obnoxiously so, the only word she could conjure to describe his physique was perfect. She couldn't judge his cock properly as it was soft when she saw it though. Her mind started filling in just how big it could be when he was hard, leading to a familiar heat building up between her legs. She barely noticed that she was sitting naked out in the cold, getting lost in her fantasy, before realizing what she was doing. Priscilla swiftly but quietly made her way back to Reiner's side and slithered under their clothing. She kept some space between them now, just enough so that her body didn't extend out beyond the warmth of their clothes. She laid on her side facing him still, but her free hand had started to slide down her abdomen and plunge in between her thighs.

It had been a while since she had last masturbated but dear God did she love doing it. It was hard to get a proper moment alone when you're sharing your bedroom with a bunch of other girls during the night and everyone just being together for training all day. Sometimes she'd sneakily touch herself when she was absolutely certain nobody was awake, and made a focused effort to keep quiet, which she was quite efficient at by now. The tips of her fingers hovered over her most sensitive area as she stared at what she could see of Reiner's face, part of her hoping he'd stay asleep and she could secretly get off... but the other half of her was eager to see what would happen if he woke up while she was touching herself. The thought thrilled her and only made her more horny. Without any further hesitation, she gently pressed down on her swollen clit and moved her fingers in slow circular motions.

Priscilla was instantly on fire beneath her fingers and felt her arousal grow from the stimulation. Her face began to flush pink and she breathed deeply as she played with herself to her dangerous delight. She knew exactly how to work herself to orgasm without taking too long, but sometimes she liked to stretch it out when she knew she could get away with it. This time, however, being brief was the only choice. She also had to be careful not to move any more than necessary to keep from rousing Reiner and to _definitely_ keep as quiet as possible. As she circled her fingers around, she shifted her leg to give herself more access to her lower regions. Spreading her legs apart increased the sensation, leading her to bite down on her lower lip or else risk letting out a way too loud for the situation moan.

Her mind traveled back to Reiner's cock. She was confident that he was 'proportional' to say the least – if the rest of him was big, a big dick would make sense too, wouldn't it? The thought thrilled her as she imagined him pulling out his rock hard cock, throwing her down and having his way with her. Priscilla let out a tiny gasp as she began to rub herself faster, trying to climb on a gradual build up and savor each moment. That's when her body started to betray the rules her mind had laid out. Now that she got herself going, it was impossible for her to keep from grinding into her hand – the fact that she was laying right there next to him was bringing her to a higher high than she had felt before when she just had her mind. It wasn't too noticeable at first, but she knew very well how intense she could come.

As her face grew more and more red, she rolled quickly onto her back and spread her legs apart even more as she fingered herself more and more vigorously. Her breathing was fast and heavy. She was losing control of her body to the point of her hand getting unsteady as she rubbed herself, but this by no means was detracting from the experience at this point. Priscilla had worked herself into a frenzy with her increasingly furious masturbation. She quickly reached down and coated her fingers with some of her natural wetness before going for the grand finale. She had abandoned the methodical circles because she was going far too fast to keep it up at this point, she was just intensely rubbing up and down as fast as she possibly could. She bite down hard on her lip again but that couldn't stop small moans escaping from her.

Her moans were intermixed with quiet but intense panting as she felt her climax about to take over. Her obsession with Reiner was so strong that she just couldn't think of anyone else when fingering herself, no other man could possibly compare so she didn't even bother trying. Her back then arched and her hips bucked forward, grinding back and forth rhythmically after the initial burst of her orgasm.

"Reiner!" She called out desperately as she came hard.

It was such a brief peak though, with her pleasure slowly but surely washing away after she came. She suddenly noticed Reiner stirring slightly and her face went red again. Her face went pale when she realized how loud she was when she came.

"What... Something happen?" He mumbled as he awoke in hazy confusion.

"Ahh... No, nothing." Priscilla lied, but then added a touch of truth to the situation, "Nightmares had me tossing and turning."

"You sure about that? You didn't sound very scared." Reiner asked. He suddenly rolled onto his side and caressed Priscilla's face, much to her shock, "Then again you _were_ panting a lot."

His expression made him look like he knew exactly what she had been doing. Did he wake up before he announced himself? If so, how long had he been awake and just how much did he hear? The very thought made Priscilla's stomach drop and her body tensed up again, but at the same time she was still all sexed up and would welcome any advance he made.

"You know exactly what I was doing." She professed boldly, her eyes locked with his.

"I wanna hear you say it." He spoke immediately after she did, almost to the point of cutting off her last words. Priscilla was shocked but grew more aroused with this.

"I was thinking of you... and touching myself." She added on to her initial confession.

Without warning, Reiner rushed forward and kissed her passionately on the lips. Priscilla's already hot body knew exactly how to react and welcomed his kiss by throwing her arms around his neck and forcing him to kiss her even harder. That's when she felt it, Reiner's hard cock brushing up against her inner thighs as if seeking out her entrance. Knowing he was so close to being inside of her, Priscilla's pussy was soaked already and was hungry for him to fuck her. He suddenly pulled his face away from hers while his hand started to travel from her cheek. Reiner traced his fingers along her neck, brushed across her breast and slid down beyond her stomach. It seemed he was intent on using his hands to start with and Priscilla was more than ok with that. Her clit was already sensitive from the orgasm she just had moments ago so everything was already feeling intense.

"How often do you finger yourself while thinking of me?" He murmured as he moved his index and middle fingers up and down her wet slit.

" _All the damn time_." She freely admitted in a deeply lusty voice.

Once he heard that, Reiner chose not to keep her waiting anymore. He took the two fingers he was touching her with and pushed them inside of her. Priscilla gasped and grabbed onto his strong shoulders, her nails almost instantly forming red marks from her digging them in. With her breath hot and heavy, Reiner decided to up the ante early by inserting a third finger soon after. Priscilla buried her face in his chest as he finger fucked her – first he was slow with his first plunge but soon started to speed up a bit. The girl moaned loudly into his chest and she felt him rumble against her.

Reiner then curved his fingers inwards, eliciting a shiver from Priscilla along with a breathy gasp as she threw her head back. Reiner took this opportunity to lean in close again and start sucking on her neck. Her hands had moved to his back now with red streaks following her fingers as she dragged them down his skin. Reiner could feel her thighs quivering around his hand as she let out rapid, high pitched moans. He inserted his fourth finger and quickened his in and out motions even more.

"I-I'm close!" She exclaimed.

Reiner grunted and went even faster and harder, which Priscilla was enthralled by. She gripped him harder than ever before as her pussy tightened around his thick fingers – her eyes shut tightly and teeth gritted. When the moment came, Reiner didn't stop for a second as Priscilla shouted in ecstasy that she was climaxing. Her walls contracted several times around his fingers as she cried out his name passionately. Happy with his work, Reiner slowed his pace, easing up on her sensitive G-spot before he pulled his fingers out of her completely.

"How hard did you come?" He asked bluntly in a low voice.

"Harder than ever." She breathed as she lowered her head and nuzzled against his neck.

"You'll probably wake up soon then."

 _What...?_

Priscilla gasped and sat up straight abruptly feeling like she was coming down from an intense orgasm. The clothes slid down and exposed her upper half entirely as her chest heaved up and down. The entire encounter, even extending back to when she was touching herself, was all a dream. A very vivid and pleasurable dream, but a dream all the same. Even with that being the case, she was more than sure that she came while she was sleeping judging by how wet she was upon waking.

"What... Something happen?" Reiner mumbled as he awoke just the same as before.

"Ahh... No, nothing. Nightmares had me tossing and turning."

The scenario was bizarrely playing itself out similarly to what had happened in her dream. Her mind started to anticipate what she thought he'd say next – calling her out on what she was up to.

"Even with me here?" He faced her and smirked. This is where the similarities ended.

"Seems so..." She replied timidly, choosing then to grab the clothes that sat pooled around her hips and cover her upper body again while laying down.

"Y'know, If I could, I'd protect you from whatever the hell it is that haunts you." He started, shifting a bit to slip his arm around her and pull her in close, "But I can't if you don't dream of me."

 _He doesn't know the half of it._ She thought.

"Maybe I do..." She uttered quietly as she huddled back up next to Reiner, "But you only show up in my good dreams, really."

"Guess I should be flattered by that, at least."

Priscilla's laughed softly and imagined the various different ways he appeared to her in her dreams. It ranged from innocent fun to sweet romance to the hardcore lust that she had just experienced, and just about everything in between. His offer, even though it was incredibly unrealistic, was sweet. If she had any control of her dreams she would conjure him up in her bad ones to fight away the terrors she could barely describe. If Reiner were there, he would surely slay any demon that hounded her no matter how horrible it was.

After all, that's what heroes are for.

–-

"How were you two able to survive the night?"

Bertolt was listening intently as Reiner orated to him how he made it through the blizzard with Priscilla. Reiner's leg was bandaged up with a splint attached to it.

"I told you I was saving the best part for last." Reiner replied looking very satisfied, "Anyway, after she got the fire going she dropped this bomb on me... Said we had to get naked and cuddle."

"Are you serious?!" Bertolt asked, incredulous.

"Well I mean that was the gist of it." Reiner clarified, "I of course agreed to it, what guy wouldn't?"

Bertolt sat back as a look that could only be described as mild horror crossed his face. He was just about always sweating but he could feel a marked increase in his perspiration now. Reiner looked upon his friend curiously and raised one of his thin, angular eyebrows.

"You jealous or something?" He asked smugly, "Can't lie, it was pretty great. Got a decent view of her rack and I don't think she noti-"

"No, that's not it." Bertolt replied in a hushed tone, cutting off Reiner's pompous boasts. He leaned in closer to Reiner and lowered his voice even more, "You're too attached, it's going to compromise the..."

"Don't worry about that, I have everything under control with the mission." Reiner assured his worried friend, speaking louder than Bertolt was comfortable with despite the fact that they were secluded, "Besides, can't I at least enjoy myself while we're here?"

Reiner crossed his arms and chuckled, but Bertolt was neither amused or convinced. The Reiner he was speaking to now was not the one who should be in control, at least it didn't sound like it. Bertolt knew that he couldn't influence Reiner enough to stop him from doing something once he set his sights on it – and that problematic girl had him enchanted to the point that he was losing sight of their goals. With nothing he could do himself, it could only take a rude awakening for Reiner to break free from this shameless woman's spell.


	7. Ch VI Part I: My Love, My Lust, My Ruin

**A/N: Bit late on this one, huh? This chapter went through several different scenario options (some only subtly different, others very different) so it was hard to settle on just one idea for it that I liked, but I think I chose a good direction for it. The full version of Chapter VI was also very long like V, so again, splitting it up. Enjoy the explicit content in this one!**

 **Chapter VI Part 1: My Love, My Lust, My Ruin**

 _I can be good (if you just wanna be bad)  
I can be cool (if you just wanna be mad)  
I can be anything, I'll be your everything  
Just touch me, baby (I don't wanna be sad) _

Priscilla stood in the center of a vast room surrounded by dozens upon dozens of onlookers, punctuated by Premiere Zackley presiding over it all with a look of pure disdain. She was unusually pallid compared to her normal appearance and looked like she hadn't slept in days – eyes heavy and dark while her hair was a mess. She kept her face down and refused to look at anyone there.

"You stand here today as an enemy of humanity." Said Zackley, "And you have nothing to say for yourself?"

"No." Priscilla stated loud and clear, but still keeping her head down – mostly so they couldn't see her smiling.

"I don't think anybody here would argue that what you have done is indefensible." He continued as he looked down on the girl with contempt, "A quick death is too good for a traitor like you... You are sentenced to exile."

Priscilla had absolutely been sure that she would get the rope, or some other form of direct execution like a bullet to the back of the head. Exile instead meant that she would be banished from inside the Walls to wander in Titan territory until death claimed her in whatever way it would. There were three particular scenarios that would be drawn out: Starvation, dehydration and exhaustion, but she doubted any of those would strike her down before a Titan would get it's hands on her. Her former comrades thought so lowly of her now that they wouldn't even grant her a quick death. In truth, she didn't deserve one. She was getting exactly what she deserved for her betrayal.

Despite her recognizing what she did and understanding why they felt the need to condemn her, she very much wasn't sorry for her choice. The unapologetic attitude surely didn't win over anyone, but there was nothing she could say that could convince anyone anyway. She wasn't even dreading death, in all the horrible ways it could manifest. As it was in that moment, she was alone, and to be alone was a fate worse than death in her mind. If you're dead, you don't have to bear the crushing weight of existential solitude – and with her hero now gone, that was the only thing she felt. There was no-one left within the Walls who could possibly save her now.

* * *

"Your leg healed up pretty fast, Reiner." Priscilla marveled.

She and Reiner were riding on horseback through the night out towards the closest lake they could get to. It had only recently gotten to be warm enough to go out for a swim, and some time to unwind was more than needed. There was almost no other time than now to do it considering the two of them would be assigned separate posts in just a few days. They soon reached the lake and Reiner pulled on the horse's reigns to get it to slow down.

"Nothing can keep me down for long, you know that." He assured her once the horse came to a stop.

Reiner hopped off the horse and aided Priscilla as she dismounted too. The horse wandered over to a patch of grass and began to graze peacefully as the pair made for the shore. Priscilla excitedly pulled her boots off and tossed them aside, dipping her dainty feet into the shallow water.

"Feels perfect." She affirmed.

Eager to submerge herself in the water, Priscilla pulled off her shirt and slid her pants off as fast as she could. She elected to keep her undergarments on though, despite the fact that Reiner had seen just about all of her anyway. Reiner certainly hadn't forgotten that night where they were holed up in that frigid cave together doing whatever they could to make it. In fact he revisited that memory plenty of times when he got some time alone to himself. Not only could he recall damn near perfectly how she looked, but also what her body felt like. When he felt Priscilla against him he felt like he'd truly come into contact with the epitome of femininity, like some sort of divine being that exuded beauty.

He watched the somewhat stripped down girl wade out into the water until she was waist-deep, taking in the view of her ass before it was hidden by the dark water. He'd admired it plenty of times before when she was clothed and he definitely didn't get a good look at it when she was bare. Not only did she _feel_ like it, but she was a vision of the ideal form of a female. He snapped out of his less than wholesome thoughts when he heard the splash of Priscilla dunking her head beneath the surface and whipping it back out. She turned to him and slicked back her wet hair, looking rather expectant.

"Well, what are you still doing over there?" She asked.

"I think I'm fine just sitting and watching." Reiner called back, "You go ahead and enjoy yourself, I'll wait as long as I need to."

"Are you _seriously_ gonna just sit there and watch me?" She pouted, "We came all the way out here and you're gonna leave me all alone?"

"You're not alone, I'm right here!" He retorted lightheartedly.

Priscilla sighed. She crossed her arms but they were not visible since she had gone out to a depth where the waterline was up to her chest. Reiner took a seat on the shore and kept his eyes on her. She damn near looked like she was sparkling in the moonlight. Suddenly Priscilla let out a gasp and her face went pale with fear.

"Reiner..." She nervously called out, "I-I just felt something brush against my leg...I think ther- AH!"

Out of nowhere Priscilla disappeared beneath the water, as if something had pulled her down. Reiner immediately sprang to his feet and pulled off his shirt and shoes as fast as he could – he didn't know what had gotten her, but he had to rescue her from whatever it was. He ran out into the water and pushed himself forward at top speed even as it got to a hindering depth. While she was mostly underwater, her limbs would sometimes break the surface as she flailed wildly to try and escape the mysterious creature. Upon reaching her in a panic, he dove under, grabbed her around her midsection and pulled her up. To his utter shock, she burst out laughing in his face.

"Fooled you!" She giggled.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" Reiner exclaimed.

"I had to get you in with me somehow, so I just played a little trick..." She replied with a flirty grin, "What, are you mad at me now?"

"No, of course not..." He said with an air of relief, "Just don't do something like that again. You could have drowned."

"Hmm fine, I promise I'll be a good girl." Said Priscilla, but then added in a deepened voice, "Unless you _want_ me to be bad, that is. I can do that too."

"Huh? Why would I want that?" Reiner asked with a confused look.

Priscilla rolled her eyes and huffed – it was almost as if he was being stupid on purpose at this point. Just how blatant did she have to be? She already throws herself at him in various suggestive ways yet he still seemed to not "get it." Priscilla was very much enjoying feeling his strong arms holding her by the waist and was reluctant to pull away, but she had to eventually. They were there to swim, not stand in the water hugging. So, she tore herself from Reiner and began to swim away, diving beneath the surface. Priscilla swam towards the deeper area, down as far as she could go while still having enough air in her lungs to sustain her. Reiner scanned the surface to try and figure out where she'd pop up next.

Soon enough, she re-appeared and tossed her wet hair back, sending droplets of water flying behind her. It was great to have some time to relax and clear their heads... The whole incident with Annie being revealed to be the Female Titan threw everyone for a loop, and it came on the heels of Eren turning out to be a "Titan Shifter" as well. It seemed like everything they thought they knew had been turned upside down. Why did they have this power? Given what they knew now, it could be deduced that the Colossal and Armored Titans were both of the "shifter" variety as well... which brought up another question: Who are they? Are they also within their ranks, hiding like Annie was? It wasn't a pleasant subject to dwell upon right now, not when the goal of the evening was to relax and enjoy themselves while they still had the chance. Priscilla's movement ceased and she let her body float up to the surface again, where she drifted lazily on her back while staring up at the starry sky in silence.

"Got something on your mind?" Reiner asked.

"Just thinking about all this Shifter stuff." Priscilla spoke as she straightened herself upright again, drifting back over to him, "I'd really rather not, though. But I can't get it out of my head."

"I got something that could help with that..." Reiner said slyly, and made his way back to shore.

Priscilla was intrigued, Reiner hadn't mentioned that he had brought along any sort of 'something.' With her curiosity piqued, she swam after him to see what kind of surprise he had in store for her. Reiner called over their horse with a whistle, giving it a quick pet before starting to dig through the satchel that the animal was equipped with. Once she was out of the water, Priscilla grabbed her hair and wrung out as much water as she could from it. Despite her actions, her hair was still dripping.

"There it is." She heard him mumble as he produced an amber bottle from the satchel. He held it in front of him to show it off to her.

"Is that..." Priscilla began as she moved closer to him to confirm her suspicions.

"You bet. I managed to steal some from the higher ups," He explained, "It's not the best quality booze, but it's pretty high in alcohol so it'll get the job done."

"Drunk night swimming?!" Priscilla laughed, "We'll _definitely_ drown!"

"Just have enough to loosen up a bit." He suggested as he pulled the cap off and offered it to her, "You ever drink before?"

"Hah... No, actually." She admitted, graciously accepting his offer, "Shouldn't take much then, huh?"

Priscilla took a quick drink and immediately coughed after swallowing. It burned her throat and tasted pretty awful, but she definitely wanted to 'loosen up,' as Reiner had put it, so she went for another swig. The first 'shot' of the liquor seemed to be the worst as the second was already easier, leading her to take several gulps. She pulled the bottle away from her lips to take a breath, but quickly moved in for a third swig.

"Woah, hey!" Reiner exclaimed while lunging forward and grabbing the bottle away to stop her, "This is hard stuff, you'll make yourself sick at this rate."

"Hmmhmhhee... Well I did say I'd be a good girl tonight." She smirked, already feeling the effects permeating through her body. Reiner then took a drink himself.

"Give it a few minutes at least before you hit it again." He instructed.

" _Whatever you say._ " She agreed in a sing-song tone, and then turned on her heel and ran back to the water.

While Priscilla was feeling a bit tipsy already she still kept most of her wits about her. She didn't go too far into the water, knee-deep at most, where she frolicked carelessly. All serious thoughts that were rolling around her mind had melted away and she was just... happy. Happy to be there, happy to be with Reiner – just the two of them with no chance of anybody intruding. However, she quickly came to the realization that she was actually romping around all by herself like a doofus. She turned to face her companion.

"You just gonna stand there and stare?!" She called out to Reiner, who had taken another drink himself.

"Well it's a pretty good view." He replied with a devious grin.

Priscilla's logical conclusion was that she'd have far more fun out of the water than in it, so with her brief frolic over she marched back over to him, where she nabbed the alcohol away from him and drank deeply once more. While she wasn't stone cold drunk or incapacitated in any way, her inhibitions were certainly starting to lift in a significant way. Perhaps this is just what she needed...

"I bet I can make it even better for you..." Priscilla purred and returned the bottle to him.

She had a sly look on her face as she took a couple steps back and slowly raised a hand to one of her bra straps, slipping it off her shoulder. Despite his slight buzz clouding his mind a bit, Reiner reacted immediately. Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed her hand and stopped her from revealing any more of herself.

"You don't have to do that." He said, having quickly grown serious.

"What if I want to?" She countered.

He desperately wanted to be the 'good' guy here and not take advantage of her, but Reiner's body was already betraying him as Priscilla continued to offer herself. He could feel his pants getting tighter, which would easily give him away no matter how he presented himself otherwise – and it was only a matter of time before she would notice his growing erection. Reiner's will was growing weak, as was his grip on her hand, he wouldn't be able to resist if she kept up with this behavior. Priscilla noticed that he wasn't holding as tightly anymore and took this as an opportunity to pull away, reach around behind her back and quickly undo her bra. She shook it off and let it fall to the ground, leaving her top half completely exposed.

There was no denying that she looked magnificent, almost as if she wasn't of this world, and the moonbeams illuminating her pale body almost made it like she was glowing. Her ethereal beauty enchanted the man that stood before her and it left him immobilized. Reiner didn't even have time to think before Priscilla rushed and threw herself onto him, sending him falling backwards and dropping the bottle of booze – which shattered on the ground next to them. Priscilla straddled him and ran her hands across his chest slowly, taking in the feeling of his strong body beneath her slender fingers. Reiner stared up at her with his eyes wide as she caressed him – he was used to her being on the clingy side, but this was a step above what he was used to. Priscilla didn't linger on just touching him for long though. She let out a breathy gasp as she moved in close and kissed him with full force.

Oh how she had longed to taste his lips for years now. It was a yearning that ate away at her soul any time they got even slightly close. Just as she was about to pull away though, Priscilla felt one of Reiner's hands on the back of her head while his other arm crawled around her back, pulling her back in close for a deeper kiss. This is exactly what she had hoped for and threw her into an even more excited state, aided by the feeling of his hard member under her. She moaned into the kiss, but she wanted more, so she broke away to make her demand.

"Take out your cock," She breathed heavily, " _Now._ "

That was more than enough to send Reiner over the edge. He pushed Priscilla back a bit so he would undo his pants enough to pull out his cock as per her request, which throbbed with burning lust. The impish Priscilla's eyes widened when she saw his impressive dick in all it's glory – she absolutely wasn't wrong when she imagined it was huge. It was certainly delicious in length, but the thickness was out of this goddamn world. She didn't want to delay any longer, not even to take off her underwear. She moved forward again and pulled her wet white panties to the side – soaked from both the water and her own wetness. Reiner watched in anticipation as she hovered over him, grabbed his hardon and began to lower herself onto it.

 _God..._ she thought when she felt his head pushing into her for the first time.

Priscilla moaned heavily and bite her lip as she guided him into her tight hole – she was starting to worry this wasn't gonna work out anatomically, which would ultimately put any chance of them being together sexually in the grave. She was determined though and just took it slow to get things started. It didn't take long before she had taken the entire length of his penis inside of her, a feeling so euphoric that she had to pause and take in a shuddering breath. Reiner was frozen for a moment himself, his hand had treated him well but jerking off couldn't compare to the feeling of his desired woman's tight hot cunt squeezing his cock. Priscilla soon regained her senses and got to work...

She was feeling a bit greedy in her blind and tipsy lust, but she also figured Reiner would enjoy seeing her pleasured by his body anyway. Priscilla started to grind her hips against his pelvis, moving them in circular motions to stimulate her clit. Reiner's unsteady hands found their way to her thighs which he gripped tightly. His eyes darted from her face to her tits to their connected pelvises. Watching her grind against him was ridiculously hot, but he really didn't know the half of what this all meant to his partner. For a woman to give herself to someone enough to let them see her orgasm was an act that required trust of the highest degree, at least for Priscilla it was. She could never imagine showing this part of herself to anyone else in the world. She lived a life of heavy, self-imposed control, but with him in that moment it was all gone.

Reiner was the only one she was willing to lose herself with.

The psychological side of letting herself go made the act doubly erotic for her, which was propelling her even faster towards her climax. She progressively moved her hips around faster and faster, pressing her clit down hard against him. Keeping up with this technique wasn't possible as she neared orgasm though, leading Priscilla to just grinding herself back and forth as fast as she could. Her body grew tense and her straight posture fell forward, her hands against the ground on either side of Reiner's head. Her deep moans were reduced to rapid whimpers that came between her quick breaths.

"Fuck! S-Shit!" She cried out in a broken voice, "Oh God, oh God-! This is-! I'm gonna come!"

Priscilla snapped herself backwards and arched her back as orgasm rocked her body from head to toe. A warm tingling sensation washed over her and she began to bounce up and down on his long, thick cock. As she came, her pussy rhythmically contracted around Reiner's dick, driving him wild. With his hands firmly on her thighs still, he started to thrust in and out of her with wild abandon. Left weak in her post-climax haze, Priscilla collapsed on top of her lover while he continued to pound her mercilessly. Reiner's arms wrapped around her and she dug her nails into his shoulders as she breathed into his ear.

"Keep going, keep going..." She urged.

After just a few brief moments of his frantic thrusting, Reiner let out a loud grunt and tensed up. Without a word of warning, he blew his hot load inside of her. Following his grunt were heavy breaths and a few lasts thrusts that slowed to a halt. Priscilla blinked and her brow furrowed, but with her head buried against his neck there was no way for Reiner to see her rather blunt reaction. Banishing the perplexed look from her face, Priscilla sat up again and looked down at him.

"Did you...?" She slowly asked.

"Err..." Reiner replied awkwardly, "Yeah."

Priscilla was honestly pretty flattered. He must have been real fucking aroused and attracted to her to come that quickly, especially with her on top. She fell into a state of pensive thought, but then, it hit her.

"Reiner..." She began with a cheeky grin, "You were a virgin, weren't you?"

Reiner looked away and mumbled under his breath, but it was clear she hit the nail right on the head. This was an absolutely bizarre twist, this was the guy who oozed manliness and machismo, the guy whose air of confidence was unmatched... and he'd never gotten his dick wet until now. When she thought about it more, however, it made perfect sense. They were living under a strict routine that didn't leave time or energy for fucking, and had been for years at this point. It was actually pretty cute to see him flustered over this. Once his initial embarrassment started to pass, though, Reiner had his own question.

"Weren't you?" He asked as he looked back at her.

Priscilla didn't see that one coming. But in the immediate hindsight it was a logical progression of this conversation. There was no way for Reiner to have known how hard hitting that question would be, but the look in her eyes when his words sunk in was enough to tell him that something wasn't right. Sure, it was every guy's dream to be the one to take a girl's virginity, but would it be the end of the world if he wasn't able to? Not in the slightest. It was just confusing – he couldn't imagine who she would have had sex with besides him, or when for that matter. She would spend her free moments with him and seemed like she only had eyes for him. It just didn't add up.

"Don't worry about that." Priscilla finally spoke in a monotone voice.

"Look, I'm not mad or anything." Reiner explained.

Priscilla abruptly got up off him and marched away from him. She started gathering her clothes and getting dressed again in silence. Reiner sat up and looked upon her curiously, fiddling with his pants to put his dick away.

"I wish you were my first," She finally said after a tense silence, her voice still in that haunting monotone, "But it wasn't my choice. Not really."

Reiner's eyes widened as he realized what she was implying. She didn't have to spell it out for him, he could tell exactly what she meant. And it made his stomach turn. He rose to his feet to walk over to his companion.

"When?" He growled as rage filled him, "When did it happen?"

"Remember when we stopped seeing each other? That's when," Priscilla explained in a detached manner, "I was 13."

It was bad enough that she was getting beat on by assholes, but this made him absolutely sick. Reiner struggled to remember when he had last felt an anger as potent as he was feeling now. She turned to him to continue addressing the issue, having finished dressing herself.

"Although it didn't happen the way you're probably thinking," Priscilla continued while Reiner was silent, "It was... Ah, let me just tell you the whole story..."


	8. Chapter VI Part II: Ruination

**A/N: THE MUCH ANTICIPATED PART TWO OF CHAPTER SIX! I debated on just how dark I wanted this to get, and it probably won't be an easy read to anyone sensitive to non/questionably consensual encounters, but I tried to keep it non-descriptive enough to not be crass but still remain tragic and awful. If you don't want to read about this situation, skip past the first large block of italicized text, the context before and after that should be enough.**

 **Chapter VI Part 2: Ruination**

 _Deep into a dying day_ _  
_ _I took a step outside an innocent heart_ _  
_ _Prepare to hate me fall when I may_ _  
_ _This night will hurt you like never before_ _  
_

"I wish you were my first," She finally said after a tense silence, her voice still in that haunting monotone, "But it wasn't my choice. Not really."

Reiner's eyes widened as he realized what she was implying. She didn't have to spell it out for him, he could tell exactly what she meant. And it made his stomach turn. He rose to his feet to walk over to his companion.

"When?" He growled as rage filled him, "When did it happen?"

"Remember when we stopped seeing each other? That's when," Priscilla explained in a detached manner, "I was 13."

It was bad enough that she was getting beat on by assholes, but this made him absolutely sick. Reiner struggled to remember when he had last felt an anger as potent as he was feeling now. She turned to him to continue addressing the issue, having finished dressing herself. She couldn't look at him though, and kept her eyes fixed on the ground.

"Although it didn't happen the way you're probably thinking," Priscilla continued while Reiner was silent, "It was complicated... Ah, let me just tell you the whole story..."

* * *

 _It was a day like most others. Lonely. Hopeless. But most of all, hungry. I thought I would try begging instead of outright stealing though, so I set myself up on a populated street. It wasn't incredibly busy, but had enough of a flow of people for me to make my case to. Most of the men and women didn't even look my way, they just pretended I wasn't there. It was easier for them than looking me in the eye and directly denying me. I felt like less than nothing, just a weakling who would be better off dead. In fact, my hope had eroded to the point that I was convinced I could never be strong enough to join the military ranks. I knew I was nothing. Not worthy. I gave up that dream._

 _But that's when things changed._

 _A man approached me, and I could tell from his clothes that he must have seen a fair amount of success in his life. By no means was he a noble, but definitely upper middle class at the very least. He was much older than me, I'd guess about 40, but he never told me his age so I don't know for sure. The man kindly offered me a small piece of bread which I eagerly snatched up and ate immediately without a second thought. He looked down at me and said that he could offer me a place to live as long as I worked for it. I said yes right away, I didn't care what the 'work' was, it couldn't be as bad as the life I'd currently had. Maybe now I could live a comfortable, easy life..._

 _He was quite pleased. He took my hand and lead me off the streets and to his home. Like I said, he wasn't in the top echelon of society, but better off than most in that area and his home reflected that. It was big enough to be comfortable but not impractically large. He enjoyed art and had many works hung on his walls – I liked them a lot. Lots of books as well, most of which weren't very interesting to me at that age. Politics. Geography. History. Nothing much for a young teen to enjoy, but there was a small collection of fantasy novels that I ended up finding enjoyment in. When we arrived, he told me to help myself to some food and I was more than happy to... I frantically sought his kitchen where I found a small bowl of fruit sitting on the table. I remember what I took too – an apple._

 _I took several large bites out of it while the man watched with a smile. Once I finished it, though, he decided it was time to start making it clear what kind of work I'd be doing for him._

" _Take off that filthy dress. Let me get a look at you."_

 _I immediately felt like such a fucking fool. After so many disappointments from humanity, I should have expected his less than pure intentions and not have been so naïve to jump at the offer. It was too late for me to get out of it now, though, which he pointed out by highlighting that I'd already gladly accepted food twice from him. I hesitated, but he was not patient with me. He told me that if I didn't do exactly as he said that he would kill me – assuring me that he had eyes all over the city who could find me and bring me back if I tried to run away... but as long as I listened and obeyed, I would live in safe comfort._

 _So what choice did I have?_

 _I reluctantly did as he said, took the dress off. The dress you gave me. He started off by walking around me and 'inspecting' what he saw. Then he commanded that I follow him to his bed. My body wouldn't stop shaking, but I did as he said, as much as I desperately didn't want to. He took off his clothes and held me down on the bed and... Well, you get the idea. All I could do was cry. Once he had finished, he kissed me, said that he approved of me and that I could stay. I'd never felt such a confusing mixture of emotions – all at once I was consumed by fear, relief, disgust and hope._

 _Eventually I couldn't cry anymore. I hated him so much, but I had steeled myself so that I could endure it. For a while early on he'd have to tie me up while he worked during the day – he didn't spend much time at it though... he left those fantasy books out for me so I wouldn't get bored. Considerate, right? Those books were the only escape. I read stories about Princesses being rescued by their heroic Princes and wished my hero would come charging in fearlessly to whisk me away._

 _It didn't take long before others... got involved. Part of his business was to prostitute young girls out to his "day job" coworkers, and I was the current girl. There wasn't a great number of them, but it was awful all the same. He'd bring them in, money exchanged hands and he'd leave me alone with whatever man he had sold me out to that night. If I objected, he'd hit me until I submitted. It didn't take long until I was as close to 'willing' as I could get and kept my mouth shut._

 _However, he soon decided that he no longer wanted me to be completely passive and declared that he would teach me the proper ways to please a man. He went on and on about how much more valuable I'd be as a woman and that my future husband would love to have an experienced wife – I was so broken down by this point that I believed it. As this part of the 'relationship' progressed, he began to trust me more. No longer was I bound up when he went out to work during the day. He provided me with proper clothes too, since he detested that old brown dress he had found me in. I wouldn't let him throw it out though, I held onto it because it was the only thing of you I had left. I became quite... comfortable with my situation, though. I didn't like it, but I got to a point where I didn't see any reason to leave._

 _He never let me leave the house without him though, not even when he trusted me, even to just go around the corner to get some bread. But I remember one day in particular, we were out in town to pick a few things up. I looked all around out of boredom while he conversed with a merchant. To my utter surprise I saw you with Annie and Bertolt. I looked over to the man and his attention was still 100% on the merchant. I wanted to run away and cry for your help so badly, but I was frozen. To throw my arms around you and never let go. But what right did I have to expect you to save me anyway? What could you do? I abandoned the idea and returned home with him with a heavy heart._

 _But when I saw you again from a distance, I was reminded. I was reminded that I had something to fight for, reminded of the questions I needed answers to. I gave up my freedom for a more "luxurious" life and fell into a haze of bitter contentment. But that's not the kind of person I wanted to be. I wanted to be strong. I wanted to fight. There was an entire world out there waiting for me beyond the confines of the prison I'd given myself up to._

 _After enduring this for a year, I decided I would take no more. I told him I no longer needed his help and that I would be leaving. I fully expected him to hit me and drag me back to his room for a swift punishment, but he didn't. The deal was that he'd take care of me as long as I obeyed, and with my sights set back on the military, I wouldn't need his 'kindness' anymore. Before I left, he hugged me and gave me a final kiss saying that he would miss me... and to come visit him sometime. I of course had no intention of doing that, but I kept my remarks to myself. I walked out the door and never looked back upon the sick relationship I had with him – one of a father, one of a sick 'lover,' one of a teacher and one of a pimp. But that was all over now and I could live freely as I chose._

 _The gravity of the situation I had been didn't hit me until I walked out of that place as a free person. I felt so sick and ashamed for what I willingly did, but I had to move forward. There was no point in crying anymore._

 _And then not even a week later, you found me on the training grounds. For the first time in a long while I felt a spark of happiness. It wasn't the act of leaving him or joining the military that brought me back that sweet feeling, it was seeing you again._

 _Somehow I knew from then on things would be alright._

* * *

"Why didn't you ever tell me...?"

Priscilla sighed lightly and her gaze remained on the ground. She felt both great shame and at the same time as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of her chest. Reiner stared at her intently while she kept her eyes averted, but she could sense the question burning inside of him, and he had every right to an answer.

"I was convinced you would never love me if you knew what I'd done," She admitted sheepishly. Reiner gaped at her in a state of disbelief. Never did this idea even come close to crossing his mind, "He called it being experienced, but the only thing to call it is being ruined. What man would choose such horrifically used goods when there are untouched options available? Like Christa..."

Reiner lunged forward and pulled her into a tight hug. Priscilla laid into the embrace limply with her head resting on his chest when she felt something she didn't anticipate: tears. They were silent but they ran down her cheeks all the same. It wasn't that recalling that period of her life was so traumatizing that it still reduced her to a crying mess, but rather the acceptance she felt in his arms. The past event made her think so lowly of herself that she was sure he'd reject her, but without even saying anything Reiner had made it clear that wasn't the case. Despite the tears, a weak smile appeared on her lips, and she wrapped her arms around him as well. The embrace was all too short before Reiner pulled away to address her again.

"What's his name?" Reiner asked intently.

"Why do you need to know?" Priscilla responded, in a tone that was almost defensive, "What will you do? Hunt him down and kill him?"

"You're damn right I will!" He insisted, gripping her shoulders tightly.

"Tch... You're sweet, Reiner..." Priscilla cooed, not bothered by his strong hold, "But you don't have to do that. He died in Trost when the Wall was breached."

"How the Hell do you know that?!" Reiner retorted with increasing fervor.

"...Because I made sure of it."

* * *

 _Trost had descended into chaos with Titans roaming the streets. I was doing my part to help eliminate them and save any citizens I came across, just like the rest of us. While traveling the rooftops I spotted someone on the ground, immobilized. As a dutiful soldier I hopped down to the street and approached this person and was eager to help. Once I was in front of them, I recognized it was that man immediately and my willingness to do good vanished. He remembered me too, and he was overjoyed._

" _Priscilla! Thank God you're here. I need your help, I can't walk..."_

 _I stood above him with a blank expression as I listened to him beg for my help. He seemed certain that I would save him and even tried to butter me up by saying what a lovely woman I was growing up to be and how proud he was that I achieved my dream. He was so sure that I had descended from Heaven to be his guardian angel and save his life._

" _No."_

" _What do you mean 'no?' I took care of you! You owe this to me!"_

" _No."_

 _As if the Gods decided to smile upon me in that moment, a Titan's footfalls started to grow louder and closer. I let a cheeky smirk pierce my empty expression before I started to shout to pull it's attention towards us. The man hysterically pleaded for me to stop and begged even harder, the bastard even had tears in his eyes! Tears! Once the Titan rounded the corner and spotted us, I used my gear to return to the safety of the rooftops. Just as planned, the Titan grabbed him. He screamed and cried, but I just watched. The Titan devoured him, crushing his body between it's teeth and tearing him apart. I almost wanted to spare the creature since it had helped me out, but I had a job to do. Once the man was good and dead, I swung in and cut the nape of the Titan. I even felt a little bad about killing it._

 _I didn't kill him with my own hands, but that was more than good enough for me. That was my instance of delivering divine retribution. In that moment I was the Goddess of revenge. And I enjoyed every second of it._

* * *

"And now you know what kind of person I really am." She said, concluding her story. Reiner gave her a puzzled look, expressing his desire for her to elaborate, "Thief, whore and a murderer. Not exactly an upstanding member of society."

"You haven't done anything wrong..." Reiner tried to reassure her.

With her demons now known to him, Priscilla collapsed against Reiner and wept into his chest. It was too good to be true for him to still accept and want her. Reiner was at a loss for words with the revelations that she just hit him with. His mind searched desperately for something, anything he could say that would soothe her – but what could be said? He thought he knew the extent of what she had endured already and he never imagined how much more disturbing it got. The best consolation he could offer in that moment was a strong embrace while she cried. However, he couldn't deny the hate and fury that was filling his heart.

"The people on this island... are such monsters..." He said in a low growl.

Priscilla suddenly stopped weeping and her brow furrowed. Island? How did he know they lived on an island? That wasn't something she'd ever heard before. She looked up at Reiner with a curious look and a tilted head.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"That's why I'm here. I'm here to exterminate them." He continued.

"Err, Reiner... You alright? You're sounding a bit crazy."

Reiner's hands gripped Priscilla's shoulders even harder, causing her to wince. He looked directly into her eyes before spitting out a confession of his own.

"I'm the Armored Titan!"

Priscilla's eyes went wide with shock. Her eyes darted back and forth as she processed this. Surely it had to be a joke. She let out a soft chuckle and shook her head.

"...That's what you have to say? You _lie_ to me to try and make me feel better?" She spoke incredulously, "That's probably the most insulting thing you've eve-"

"Don't believe me?" Reiner interrupted her as a dark look took over his face, "Fine... I'll just have to show you. Get back."

Priscilla rolled her eyes, but she decided to humor him. She started to back away from him and he did the same. Once there was a solid distance between them, Priscilla crossed her arms and waited. Reiner raised his hand up to his mouth and bit down hard enough to draw blood. A bolt of lightning erupted from the sky above and struck Reiner, drawing a shriek out of Priscilla. The shockwave sent her tumbling several meters backwards and startled their horse so badly that it took off running into the night with a frightened whinny. Smoke enveloped the immediate area, totally obscuring Reiner from view. Priscilla eyes were fixed on where she last saw him, but what would emerge from the chaos would change her life forever.

The Armored Titan.

Her jaw dropped so hard and fast that it nearly broke off. The Titan looked down on her with it's glowing yellow eyes, but she did not feel any sort of fear for even a moment. There was no reason to be afraid – it was just Reiner after all, and if he had no control over his Titan form then he surely would have grabbed her and tossed her into his mouth by now. No, he was just looking upon her like a gentle giant. Priscilla found it hard to believe that he was the one who broke through the wall with the Colossal Titan all those years ago when she saw him in that moment.

There was no point in Reiner remaining in his Titan body for long though. With his point proven, the Titan collapsed onto it's knees and fell forward. The thick armor plating that protected it's nape cracked and splintered, allowing Reiner to escape. He climbed out of the body that almost immediately started to dissipate like all the others, erasing the evidence of what transpired here. The transformation left him a bit weakened and he struggled to stand once he was back on the ground. Priscilla ran over to him and took him into her arms to help him stand.

"Well... now you know what a piece of shit I am," He uttered between strained breaths, "You'd be more than justified to hate me. I don't deserve to have you so if you want me out of your life, just say the word."

"Why..." Priscilla began slowly. Reiner was fully anticipating her to ask why he did it, why he destroyed the Wall, but he was far off the mark, "Why would I _ever_ want that?"

"Eh?!" Reiner exclaimed, utterly taken aback by what she said, "Are you serious? Everything that happened to you is almost entirely my fault... Your orphanage wouldn't have been destroyed and you wouldn't have been tortured by the devils that inhabit this island!"

"That doesn't matter anymore!" She shouted in a state of euphoria.

This was the last reaction Reiner had expected from Priscilla. Anger was the only logical way to respond to this. Anyone else would swiftly run away and report this to Erwin, but she remained right there, and she had no intention of going anywhere. Reiner looked at her with his eyes wide as he tried to make sense of this.

" _Doesn't matter_?" He asked, "You don't even want to know _why_ I did what I did?"

"Doesn't matter," She reiterated, "The good you've done for me far outweighs your sins in my eyes. I could never turn against you, my hero. Besides..."

"Besides what?" He pressed.

"Mankind has been my enemy for a long time. I was betrayed by them all. Repeatedly. They wrecked my innocence and did everything in their power to break me," She explained, "I have no issue throwing away my humanity to be with you. My allegiance is to you, Reiner, and only you."

"You really are crazy..." He scoffed in a state of disbelief, "But... There's definitely more to this whole situation. Now's not the time for that, but I promise you that you'll know when the time is right... We're gonna need to start getting back anyway."

"Oh, yeah..." Priscilla agreed, "Our horse got pretty spooked by your little stunt so I guess we're walking back."

* * *

It took God knows how long for Reiner and Priscilla to get back to the barracks on foot. It was still dark and everyone else was deep in their slumber, but day would surely break within an hour or two. Reiner fully expected Priscilla to split off and head to her bed in the female bunks, but instead she grabbed onto his arm and refused to go her own way.

"I'm sleeping with you tonight!" She declared, "We'll be stationed at different locations soon, and for who knows how long, so I'm staying with you as much as I can."

"What happened to not wanting to make trouble?" Reiner laughed.

"I think we've already made enough trouble tonight." She replied with a devious grin, "Fuck what anyone else thinks now!"

With her attached to him by the arm, Reiner lead her into the building where the rest of the males of the 104th were sleeping soundly. Bertolt as usual was in one of his odd sleeping postures, Connie was snoring loudly and Jean could be seen visibly drooling on his pillow with his limbs sprawled out in all directions. Through the darkness Reiner guided his lady to where he slept – it was a single sized bed, as these soldiers weren't expected to be sharing with anyone else.

Priscilla broke away from him and swiftly kicked off her boots. To maximize her comfort while she slept, she shimmied out of her pants and skillfully removed her bra without taking her shirt off. She hopped onto the less than comfy bed as Reiner similarly disrobed, leaving only his boxers on before he joined her. She had grabbed the thin sheet while waiting and, once Reiner was next to her, she tossed it over the both of them. Reiner swung his arm around Priscilla and pulled her back so that they were laying side by side, both their heads sharing the single pillow he had.

"I have to ask," Priscilla murmured in a hushed voice, "What happened to marrying Christa? She's a Goddess after all, definitely outranks a Princess."

"Goddesses aren't real." Reiner replied quietly, "But you very much are."

Reiner's eyes were heavy with exhaustion while still maintaining a look of contentment, but Priscilla was rather wired. Her eyes studied his masculine face and took in everything about it, every little detail that she adored from his defined jaw, strong nose and narrow golden eyes... everything. Reiner's eyes soon closed while Priscilla still continued to lovingly stare at him as she thought about the insane events that had transpired that night. They both had revealed things to each other, things that each were sure would change the perception that the other had of them – but their feelings remained unchanged. The fact that Reiner was the Armored Titan actually made him more attractive in a strange way, which Priscilla didn't think was even possible. It added an exciting element of danger to them being together.

She saw herself as a whore, and he saw himself as a monster – but to each other, she was a princess and he was a hero. Priscilla imagined that they were on their way to some sort of happy ending now, but she had no idea of how grim the future was. For now though, the princess had gotten the hero she desperately craved for years.

* * *

 _Hmm... I see. So that's how it is. It's truly a shame that she would willingly debase herself in such a way with an Eldian, but I'm sure I can make her understand the error of her ways once we meet again. Provided she can find her way across the ocean, of course. This Reiner Braun will be useful in that sense at the very least... but he seems to feel strongly for her too, which will prove to be quite an obstacle. Peculiar that he feels this way, though. He's supposed to hate all of them there, but perhaps he can tell she's no Eldian on some level... Doesn't seem like he'd be the type to give her up without a fight though. I suppose I can always try asking nicely... Tch._

 _Leaving her behind on that island was a mistake. Those devils are turning her into a monster just like them... it's disgusting. But I can't do anything with her still on Paradis, I need her to get to Marley quickly and safely._

 _It's up to me to make this right. I'll see you soon... Adrestia._

* * *

"Oh jeez..." Connie groaned.

Morning had come and the soldiers were beginning their day. Reiner and his bed mate, however, were still dead asleep. He was flat on his back with his big mouth agape while Priscilla laid face down on top of him, having crawled on top of him sometime during their sleep. Connie and Jean were standing above them with disgruntled looks on their faces, while Bertolt stood along with them but his expression was more... disconcerted than anything.

"This arrogant bastard," Jean sneered, "He thinks he can just break protocol and nobody would care..."

"We'll never hear the end of this either..." Connie sighed, "What did Reiner do to make her so pathetically crazy for him anyway?"

"Hell if I know, she's been like that as long as I've known either of them." Jean said.

"I know that they met before we joined the military." Bertolt suddenly interjected, not taking his eyes off the sleeping pair, "I wasn't there for the first time, but the gist of it she was trying to steal crops from our farm and Reiner took pity on her and let her go with a few vegetables."

" _Always playing the hero._ " Jean bitterly commented, "Maybe I should amp up that technique... I wonder if Mikasa would like that..."

"He'd visit her on the streets and bring her gifts," Bertolt continued, totally ignoring Jean, "I don't know just how bad life was for her, all Reiner would tell me is that she had nothing. He got attached."

With the idle chit chat filling the air, the slumbering paramours were roused into waking. Priscilla propped herself up and stretched her back until it cracked while Reiner's eyes opened and got a nice eyeful of her pushing her clothed chest forward while she stretched. Priscilla then sat all the way up, straddled on Reiner in a way that reflected their tryst at the lake the night prior. Her messy hair flopped down and covered parts of her face as she greeted the on lookers.

"Morning, boys." She said pleasantly, as if everything was business as usual. Reiner let out a groan and a long exhale – he was almost oblivious to the three guys watching them due to having his woman in his bed.

"Sleep well?" Jean asked dryly.

"Pfft I don't think they did much sleeping..." Connie snickered.

"Oh please, we were tired and just crawled into bed and fell right asleep." Priscilla explained, which wasn't a lie.

"Yeah she's telling the truth," Reiner finally spoke, acknowledging his male comrades at last, "...But we fucked by the lake before coming back here."

Instead of getting embarrassed, Priscilla started to laugh heartily, a reaction that Reiner joined in on. Jean and Connie looked unimpressed, but Bertolt still had a worried look about him. Having had enough, Jean and Connie looked at each other and just decided to see themselves out. Bertolt was frozen in place, trying to make sense of what his friend was getting into. He looked like he wanted to say something but was having trouble getting the words out. His eyes were fixed mainly on the giggling Priscilla, unblinking in his observation.

"Hey hey," Said Reiner directly to his best friend, "We're buddies but that doesn't mean you're allowed to ogle my girl."

"What?! I wasn't... I..." Bertolt clumsily replied, "Never mind..."

Bertolt shuffled away stiffly, leaving the reckless love birds to themselves.

"Poor thing..." Priscilla commented as she watched him leave, "He must be worried that he's losing his best friend."

"Pssh, he'll get over it, I'm sure." Reiner assured her.

"Mm..." Priscilla hummed and laid down against Reiner again, faces barely even an inch apart, "So, I'm your girl now, huh?"

"You always have been." He replied smoothly, leaving Priscilla with a bright red blush on her cheeks, a goofy giggle escaping her, "That's why I have to save you from this place."

 _Save me from this place?_

"You're different from the rest of them. I don't know what it is..." He had continued in a voice that drifted quieter and quieter with each word he spoke until it was a near inaudible whisper, "You're no devil."

Priscilla laid her head down on his chest. His heartbeat was strong and fast, but was still soothing to her. She had no idea what he'd been talking about with "island devils" and being there to "kill them all." It was so baffling since she lived on the island just like everyone else, what made her different from the supposed "devils" that Reiner seemed to hate so much? Priscilla was optimistic that he'd completely come clean when he was able to, but who knows when that time would come. For now, just being his girl was more than good enough.

* * *

"That girl is sick in the head, I'm telling ya." Jean sighed, "Imagine being obsessed with _Reiner_ of all people! Reiner! What's so great about him?"

"You're jealous that you don't have your own lunatic girl hanging all over you!" Connie shot back with a laugh, "Maybe if you worked out some more..."

While Connie and Jean were bantering outside the barracks, Bertolt had emerged as well. He stayed a bit behind them to listen in on what they were saying before making himself known.

"I'd take a cold stare from Mikasa over a kiss from Priscilla any day..." Jean said, making a 'yuck' noise at the thought of Priscilla kissing him, "Priss has those creepy eyes anyway. Imagine those things staring at you. And white hair? Weird."

"Yeah there's not really anyone else who looks like her here..." Connie contemplated.

"And don't you find that strange?" Bertolt finally spoke up, catching the attention of the other two.

"Ehhh people come in all shapes and sizes, what's the big deal?" Jean dismissed as he turned to face Bertolt.

"Who else in these walls has silver hair and ghostly pale skin? Vibrant eyes that are almost inhuman at times..." Bertolt ranted.

"Uhh you sound a bit unhinged, buddy..." Connie said to an increasingly paranoid Bertolt.

"I've done my best to be a good friend to her... For Reiner's sake..." Bertolt continued, looking down at the ground shamefully.

Bertolt clenched his fists as Jean and Connie watched in a state of mild shock. They'd rarely, if ever, seen Bertolt so worked up. The guy never raised his voice and yet here he was ranting and raving about something being very 'wrong' with Priscilla. Dangerously wrong, even, based on Bertolt's tone.

"Err Bertolt..." Jean interjected, only to have Bertolt talk over him.

"I swear, there are times I've seen flashes of... something not quite human in her, something that could be malevolent." He went on, "But in those moments, Reiner doesn't see any of that. Just a girl he foolishly loves. She's nice of course, but I worry he'll end up doing something stupid..."

"Well if he wasn't lying about sleeping with her then he's already done something stupid." Connie commented.

"Of course it was a lie!" Jean insisted, "No way... there's just no way..."

While Connie and Jean bantered about whether Reiner was smooth enough to get laid or not, Bertolt couldn't help but worry. It seemed like each day that went by, Bertolt was losing Reiner... or rather, Reiner was losing himself. He'd convinced himself that this Priscilla was some sort of harlot Goddess sent to their world to enrapture Reiner and lead him from the righteous path that he and Bertolt had been traveling on for years now.

But there are no Goddesses in this world.

Only monsters.


	9. Chapter VII: Bewitched

**Yes, we're back. Had a weird few months, but here we are. First of all, yes I changed the fic title. It was my original title but I didn't want to be that cheesy at the time, but now I don't care anymore. Bring on the cheese. Also, according to recent leaks, the new chapter of SNK has a similar plot element to something I had planned for this story. I won't be changing it because it's a key plot point but wow, thanks Hajime! Next chapter of this is pretty much all written by the way, so staaaaay tuned my lads and ladies. As always, enjoy the indulgent smut and romance.**

 **Chapter VII: Bewitched**

 _You keep crawling on  
Don't wanna let it go  
So you keep holding on  
To feel whole _

That day Reiner decided to do something a bit out of character: study. Sexual studies, specifically. It was definitely convenient that his partner had quite a bit of experience, even if it came from a pretty awful situation, but Reiner wanted to 'be a man' and be able to take charge of the intimacy. Not all the time though, Priscilla being so forward was pretty sexy, Reiner had no problem with allowing her to direct things according to her own whims. He had pulled several books from the shelves, an unrealistic amount for him to go through and absorb every last line of information, but he grabbed as much as he could nonetheless.

 _Map Of The Female Form  
_ _The Complete Female Anatomy  
_ _Sex & Intimacy  
_ _Getting The Most Out Of Sex_

...Were just a few of Reiner's selected materials for study. It wasn't exactly simple, though, especially trying to decipher the complexity of the female body. The diagrams and illustrations presented within these books were both helpful and overwhelming to him. What made it worse was the 'disclaimer' about every woman being different in what they want to get off. The real fear struck him when he saw the words 'sometimes she just can't achieve orgasm with her partner and needs to do it herself.' Reiner couldn't imagine anything more emasculating than that. He already felt pretty embarrassed about his early climax the previous night.

"Reiner? What are you doing?"

Bertolt had appeared behind Reiner. Reiner was never the bookish type, in fact Bertolt hadn't seen him open a book for leisure for years... if ever. Reiner shifted in his seat to face his friend but didn't stand, a look of smug satisfaction adorned his face.

"Just some studying." He replied.

"Studying? What the hell are _you_ studying?" Bertolt asked as he moved closer to get a look at Reiner's pile of books.

Reiner made no effort to try and conceal what he was reading, he just watched as Bertolt went through the books with that same smug grin. Why would he be ashamed of the fact that he was getting laid? Bertolt's eyes went wide and a thick drop of sweat ran down his face.

"Reiner..." Bertolt began, "You've lost your mind. You've lost sight of... everything!"

"I told you I have everything completely under control." Reiner sternly assured him.

"How could you do these things with... with one of _them_? How could you even _want_ to?" Bertolt continued in a lowered voice, "It's not right. She must know... and that's why she's trying to distract you from the mission. I don't know how she would know but that's gotta be it."

"You're just paranoid." Reiner shot back. He was growing quite irritated with his comrade's disapproval of his actions, "She _does_ know about me though. I told her."

"What?!" Bertolt shouted, "Why would you do that?! Y-You've just thrown away everything we've worked towards for years!"

" _We can trust her_." Reiner insisted through gritted teeth, "She hates the 'people' here too. She'll be our ally when the time comes."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing..." Bertolt replied, "She's our enemy. An enemy to the entire world."

"No!" Reiner shouted, jumping up from his chair and getting in Bertolt's face. Despite Bertolt being a couple of inches taller than him Reiner always could be more intimidating than Bertolt ever could, "She's different, I can tell. I don't know what it is yet, but maybe if we brought her to Zeke we could..."

"Be quiet!" Bertolt shouted back, "We don't know who could be listening in... I know you're stubborn but please... rethink what you're doing."

"I've already made my decision," Reiner said, "I'm bringing her back home with us."

* * *

Priscilla was lazing about in Reiner's bed within the barracks, hardly a care in the world. In fact the only thing on her mind was wondering just where he was. They had made a plan to meet up for a last tryst before they were sent to different posts, but he was taking an awfully long time to get back to the barracks. As she grew impatient, the pale girl rolled onto her stomach with a displeased huff. She mushed her face into Reiner's pillow and let out a long, frustrated groan. Her guttural whining masked any other sounds around her, including the footsteps of Reiner entering the barracks.

"Been waiting long?" He asked as he approached his girl in his bed. Priscilla sat up quickly.

"A bit," She spoke as she brushed pesky strands of hair out of her eyes, "I was worried you might have forgotten."

"Are you _kidding_?" Reiner laughed as he sat down on the bed beside her, where he placed a strong hand on her thigh and gave it a rub, "No way I could forget."

His gentle stroking of her thigh gradually turned into a tight squeeze. It was Reiner's turn to be aggressive. He leaned in close to her and whispered into her ear:

" _Take off your clothes._ "

Priscilla was pleasantly surprised to see him already initiating sex, they'd only just begun these kinds of things the other night. She didn't dwell on this for more than a few seconds as she was more than eager to have another go with him. She frantically unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it behind her and quickly removed her bra as well.

"Taking charge?" She purred as she let her undergarment fall to the floor after her shirt, "I like that... It's sexy."

Reiner then effortlessly pulled her from his side and onto his lap so she was facing him, putting her lovely breasts right in his face. While just looking at them was great, his wild virility wouldn't allow him to just sit there and stare for very long. He plunged his face into her chest, taking one tit into his mouth while one of his strong hands roughly groped at the other. Priscilla let out a tiny gasp when his mouth made contact. He hungrily sucked on her breast while kneading at the other, Priscilla almost felt like he was going to start devouring her if he couldn't control himself.

Reiner then pulled back slightly so that he didn't have a mouthful of her and instead focused on her already hardened nipple. He did his best to think back to his sexual studies from earlier, leading him to lightly lick and flick at it with his tongue. He also switched his hand from grabbing at her whole other breast to teasing at her nipple with his thumb. Priscilla gasped again and let out a moan as he went for a more refined method of pleasuring her. Her head fell backwards and her eyes shut tightly.

Even after the other night by the lake she could hardly believe she was with Reiner like this. She felt like she was having a wonderful dream that she would eventually wake up from just like that night in the frozen cave. Those dreams felt real, but this was so much more real which lead her to the conclusion that this couldn't possibly be a figment of her imagination. She _finally_ had him, had him all to herself... and nobody could take him away from her. Reiner alternated between teasing at her nipple with his tongue to light suckling on it, still thumbing at the other in a circular pattern. After letting out his own moan against her breast, he suddenly pulled away.

"It's you, Priss..." He murmured, "It's always been you. I love you. Nobody else. But I could never bring myself to involve you with me for... You know."

"Like I said, none of that matters..." She cooed, looking back towards him, "I... I love you, Reiner... and I have for so long... but right now you just need shut up and fuck me."

With that, Reiner wrapped his arms around her and pulled Priscilla in close to kiss her hard and passionately. Those perfectly sized tits of her pressed up hard against his own chest as she threw her arms around him as well. They moaned into each other's mouths, holding onto each other so very tightly as they sloppily made out. It was unbearable for Reiner to keep his erection contained within his pants any longer, it had reached it's full hardness and was aching to be touched by her.

"I have to... get it out..." He tried to say as Priscilla kept going at his mouth hungrily, "And your pants.. off..."

Despite hindering his ability to clearly speak, she got the message loud and clear. Priscilla backed off and stepped backwards onto the floor where she eagerly stripped off her pants and underwear, leaving her fully exposed. Reiner barely had time to pull out his cock before she launched herself at him again. Much like their first time, Priscilla positioned herself on top where she briefly hovered her entrance over his erect penis. Using her fine skills of dexterity, she grabbed it firmly and guided it into her as she lowered herself.

Priscilla let out a slight gasp when she felt his head start pushing inside her again, she recalled all too well just how great it was to feel it for the first time... and here, it was just as good. Despite her wetness it was still hard to get it in. Reiner was sitting back while he watched his lady command the situation. So much for him taking initiative, but at this point, he didn't really care. He let out a quiet moan of his own as he slowly felt her warmth envelop his cock the further it went in. With no need to guide it with her hand anymore, Priscilla let it go and held Reiner by his shoulders. Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and made the final "push" to get his hard, fat cock all the way inside of her.

Reiner's moan was loud, louder that it should have been given that they weren't in a very private place. At any moment, any of the other boys from the 104th could walk in and see what the lovers were doing – but these two were too far gone in their lust to think about the danger of being caught. Priscilla started to move up and down on him while her loving gaze was fixed on his beautiful face – everything about him never failed to take her breath away. Reiner could barely keep his vision focused and his face would twitch each time Priscilla fully lowered herself onto his cock to take it all in again. She lingered for a moment that time and grinded her hips up against him.

Reiner's hands found their way to her ass which he gripped tightly as she rode him, he also leaned forward to suck on her breasts again. The combination of his hungry mouth on her tit, the deep penetration and her rubbing her clit against him made her cry out in pleasure – a loud moan that someone surely had to have heard. This was a tier of pleasure she could never achieve on her own, no matter how well she knew her own body and what got her off. Priscilla breathed fast and hard, her body was quickly getting overwhelmed, and Reiner was well aware of that fact. He held her close because he could tell they were both nearing their climax.

"Hold on..." Priscilla breathed, because she could feel it too, "I want you to finish in my mouth."

"No, I want you to come first." He growled in response.

But Priscilla knew better, if their last encounter was anything to go off of, if she came while he was inside of her it would surely lead to him losing his ability to last. He was still quite new to this, after all. As she had done previously, Priscilla took the situation into her control. She took his cock all the way inside her once again before pulling herself away. She moved down to the floor on her knees and grabbed his still hard as a rock dick in both hands, squeezing it firmly as she jerked. If he was close to finishing then there was no need for a slow build up – no, she went at it fast and hard.

With her furious stroking sent him closer and closer to cumming, Reiner's body twitched and his moans increased despite his best efforts to stifle them. Priscilla could hear him through gritted teeth saying he was about to cum, so she lunged forward and took his penis into her mouth – bobbing up and down with both hands still gripping it tightly.

"Fuck!" Reiner shouted.

His entire body went tense as he unloading his seed into his lover's mouth, shooting it into the back of her throat. Two, three, four... a total of five shots of cum that Priscilla swallowed happily. Despite this, she kept her mouth on his cock and sucked on it lightly for a bit more, flicking at the head a bit with her tongue. She looked up at him sweetly while she still held him in her mouth, but soon pulled away. She coughed a bit after swallowing his impressive load, but it was a small price worth paying.

"Thanks..." She murmured, "I always wanted to get a taste of you."

She climbed back onto the bed where she laid down with her head on his pillow. Reiner was just within reach for her to grab onto his strong forearm and give it a longing tug to get him to lay with her. He didn't need any more of an invitation than that so he obliged and laid down next to her where he wrapped her up tightly in his arms. Priscilla's face went red – the wholesome and deeply emotional moments they shared were just as important to her as the sex was, but in a different way.

"Remember..." She breathed with her cheek resting on his chest, "Remember when we first laid together like this?"

"That's not something I'll ever forget." He responded with a wry chuckle, "Your intentions with that weren't purely survival, were they?"

"Well no, not exactly but... it's not like we could have done anything with your broken leg!"

" _You could have easily gotten on top._ " He shot back playfully.

"At that point I honestly didn't think you wanted me like I wanted you..." She admitted in a small voice.

"I just said it, but let me do it again... it's always been you. You really have no idea how many times I've dreamed about you in indecent ways or consciously thought about you like that to get off," He said.

"I've done that _plenty_ too Reiner, I can promise you that. I could never and _would_ never think of anyone else when I touched myself," Priscilla said, "And to be able to lay with you, skin to skin, I thought maybe that was as good as it would get for us. But... here we are."

"Yeah, here we are." He echoed.

* * *

It hadn't even been that long but Priscilla had grown so bored with Reiner gone. He, among other members of the 104th, were stationed near the southern part of Wall Rose. And here she was all cooped up in Ehrmich District with those that remained, the likes of Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Hange and Levi just to name a few. She couldn't help but worry since she knew those not with them didn't have their equipment on them, but what could possibly go wrong?

 _Why am I even here..._ She wondered as she let out a yawn.

Hange was briefing the group with information about Annie and her origins. She never had much of a relationship with Annie so this was all so terribly dull to Priscilla. Hange brought up how her place of origin was the same as Reiner and Bertolt's, which wasn't news to Priscilla at all. The words of everyone who spoke started to meld together into nothing but bothersome noise and her mind wandered to much _funner_ things...

 _God I'd love to be getting f-_

"Ziegler!" Hange shouted. Priscilla snapped out of her thoughts immediately and stood at attention, "You were always close with Braun, surely he spoke of his home to you?"

"No, not at all." Priscilla spoke, which was pretty true. He never said anything specific about where he came from, "That wasn't relevant."

"And what did you speak of that _was_ relevant?" Hange pressed.

"Well, that's personal..." Priscilla replied with a smirk, but Hange wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"We know he and Bertolt were conspiring with Annie," Hange went on, "There's no way you were clueless to this fact. _Tell us what you know._ "

"Maybe she just needs some convincing to get her talk." Levi suggested, "Lock her up. We can't risk her warning those two when they return."

"What the hell?!" Priscilla shouted.

Two large men grabbed her by each arm roughly and started to drag her away. Priscilla thrashed and grunted wildly, but she was no match for the soldiers that had apprehended her. She started to scream – to shout out Reiner's name as if he could possibly hear and come to her rescue. Her comrades watched her get taken away against her will with mixed emotions – some full of disdain and others with embittered pity. There's no way they could deduce that she knew Reiner was the Armored Titan, but their suspicions alone were enough to condemn her.

 _I won't betray him... I never... I'll never tell them anything... No matter what they do to me._

* * *

Two tents were set up on top of Wall Maria with a small campfire set up between them. Bertolt sat next to the fire, which had a pot of coffee hung above it which was almost ready to drink. Bertolt then heard footsteps behind him and looked over his shoulder.

It was Reiner. But he wasn't alone. In his arms was the limp body of Priscilla.

"Reiner?!" Bertolt exclaimed as he hopped to his feet and ran over to his friend, "Where did you... What is she..."

"She was wandering outside of Wall Rose by herself," Reiner explained as he moved past Bertolt and closer to the fire.

Reiner knelt down and carefully placed her body by the crackling fire with the hopes it'd bring her some kind of comfort, if she was even able to feel anything that is. He looked down upon her with worry in his eyes, when he found her she was alive and on her feet, but she hadn't moved a bit since he had grabbed her. Bertolt approached Reiner from behind.

"Is she... dead?" He asked.

"It's shallow but she's still breathing." Reiner answered, but was uncertain, "I want Zeke to take a look at her."

"Hm? Take a look at who?"

A man with glasses and blonde hair (with facial hair to match) emerged from one of the tents. He adjusted his spectacles as he made his way over to Reiner and Bertolt, and of course Reiner's female companion.

"Her." Reiner stated the obvious to Zeke, pointing down at Priscilla as he did so. Zeke squatted down near Priscilla's body and looked her up and down curiously.

"And just who exactly is this?" Zeke asked, not taking his eyes off the girl.

"She's..." Reiner began, but the words wouldn't come to him. Girlfriend? Lover? Partner? There was no easy way to explain to his Warchief what this situation was.

"She's a witch that Reiner fell in love with during the mission." Bertolt interjected frantically.

"A witch? Hah!" Zeke threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh, "There's no such thing as witches, what an absurd thing to say... But what about the rest, Reiner?"

"Huh?" Reiner densely asked.

"Is it true that you have feelings for... whoever this is?" Zeke clarified, looking up at Reiner over his glasses, "I don't see why else you would bring her here..."

"I do." Reiner admitted boldly, "But she's not like the rest of them here. I can tell she's no devil."

"How could you possibly be able to tell?!" Bertolt exclaimed, "You're not thinking with the right head, Reiner..."

"Hmm..." Zeke hummed as he looked her up and down again. He gently placed a finger on one of her eyelids and lifted it to get a look at her eye, "Unusually vibrant color... Hair and complexion are peculiar too... Where is she from?"

"I..." Reiner started, but was stopped dead in his tracks when he realized he actually got a real answer out of her concerning her hometown, "I don't know. She was in an orphanage in Shiganshina for years until she lived on the street, but before that... no idea."

Zeke let her eye close again, sat back and crossed his arms. He grew silent and pensive, still not taking his eyes off the girl. He was deep in thought, the gears in his head spinning wildly. Reiner was suddenly distracted by his actions in the past, the fact that he was the reason her orphanage was destroyed. It still haunted him. And now, if her having the knowledge of him being a shifter is what got her exiled, the guilt weighed heavily on him even more. Bertolt, however, was present enough to notice Zeke's ponderous state.

"Zeke? What are you thinking?" He asked slowly. Zeke chuckled.

"I have a theory," He explained, adjusting his glasses once more, "But I don't want to get into it until I can confirm it. No use in baseless speculation until I can actually speak with her. Until then, she's our little mystery."

"Alright enough talking," Reiner commanded, which shocked Bertolt, "Help her. Please. She could be dying."

"I don't appreciate you giving _me_ commands, Braun, but I'll do what I can." Zeke responded, "Your love for this woman must run deep for you to be so bold."

Reiner reached out to her and caressed her face – it was cold. Not at all how he remembered her feeling. The crackling fire reminded him of their night together in the cave.

" _Hey." He added to grab her attention._

" _Huh?" She looked up at him._

" _You're pretty amazing, you know that?"_

He recalled how warm her bare body was when she cozied up next to him. Even more vivid was his memory of their sexual encounter at the lake, where he was made aware that she was as warm on the inside as she was on the outside – actually, moreso in terms of her insides. He was well aware of how inappropriate these thoughts were in that moment, but he was a virile young man who was a slave to his biology. He was most concerned with her well being right now though. Reiner had made it one of his duties to liberate her from the Hell of this island and he wasn't willing to let her die before he could show her what kind of world existed out there.

* * *

 _Ah... her journey towards the ocean continues. I'm sure The Warriors won't spend much more time on Paradis. I do worry what will happen when they try to cross the ocean with her. The Marleyan forces won't approve of them bringing along an islander with them to their nation and she'll be met with opposition. It won't be easy to convince them that she's not an Eldian. Their Warchief seems to be the best bet to convince the Marleyans that she is no threat to them..._

 _I wonder, though, will they try to turn her into a Pure Titan anyway? Will the word of the Warchief be enough to get her safe passage? I wish I could see my dearest's journey to freedom in person, but these short glimpses I get are enough. Patience. I am confident she will make it here safely. I suppose I'll have to thank that Reiner Braun when he returns her to me, but he's gotten far too close than any man has a right to. My Adrestia has no future with him and she will soon come to realize that._


	10. Chapter VIII: Close Quarters

**HI GUYS. I have to say, spending so much time away from posting gave me plenty of opportunity to add major and minor things to my planning that will greatly enhance things. I had a thought though, I want to sort of re-write this story at some point where I DEFINITELY make the first few chapters better. I notice it will get a good amount of hits but then the hits drop off which I can only assume is because people aren't drawn in by the introductory chapters. Plus I've always had "alternate scenarios" planned that I think would be fun to explore! Like some that are WILDLY different. I'll keep you guys updated on this idea in the future... Without Barricades: THE REDUX – coming... at some point. Definitely not until this is done as already planned. What do you guys think of that idea? Well, enjoy the chapter! Also, holy shit I was unaware that "Deep Longing" was all fucked up, I wish somebody told me. It's fixed now.**

 **Chapter VIII: Close Quarters**

Zeke was conducting his crude and simple examination under the watchful eye of Reiner. He looked in her eyes again and received no response, like there was no life behind them. Zeke placed his hand on her forehead briefly to gauge her body temperature – stone cold. He then moved his attention downward and firmly began pressing around on her stomach, followed by laying his head against it to listen for any noises. Despite it being clinical, Reiner couldn't help but feel uneasy about his girl getting felt up unknowingly by someone who was a stranger to her.

"How is she?" Reiner blurted out, unable to keep his concern contained.

"She's got no food in her... Safe to assume no water either..." Zeke detailed. The man brought his hands back up to the girl's face, where he carefully pulled her chin down to open up her mouth and look inside, "Hmm..."

"What is it?" A nervous Reiner pressed.

"It looks like there's bleeding of some sort..." Zeke assessed, slowly inserting two of his digits into her mouth to feel around, "Tongue is very dry though, source of the blood is from her gums."

At that moment, the clouds that filled the night sky began to part and allowed slivers of silver light to pierce through. A bolt of electricity shot through her and Priscilla's eyes flew open and her jaw clamped down hard. Her sudden and powerful bite crushed Zeke's fingers and severed them, leaving bits of them in her mouth. As Zeke backed off to examine his injury, Priscilla sat up and spat out his fingers with disgust. She looked around frantically as panic set in – where was she? How did she get there? Who was this weird guy and why was he putting his fingers in her mouth? She felt the instinct to attack him, but just before she pounced like an animal, someone firmly grabbed her from behind to hold her back.

"Calm down!" That familiar voice shouted, "You're safe here! He's not a threat!"

"Reiner..." She murmured weakly. She had instantly recognized not only his voice but the unmistakable feeling of his brawny arms around her.

Bertolt emerged from one of the tents and rushed over to Zeke, who's fingers were steaming... and regenerating. Priscilla took notice of this quickly. By now she knew enough about Shifters to deduce what was going on here.

"...You're all Titan Shifters, aren't you?" She asked, so weary that she couldn't hold her own head up. Bertolt looked over at Zeke nervously, who looked up from his freshly reformed fingers to the girl, who continued. "Look, I know Reiner is, no point in being secretive about it now."

"We are." Zeke confirmed without any hesitation, "Bertolt has the Colossus, and I have the Beast."

Priscilla hadn't encountered the Beast Titan herself, but she heard her former comrades mention it. The others spoke of it being larger than an abnormal and had fur covering much of it's body. As Priscilla grew calmer, Reiner released her and Zeke grabbed a canteen to offer her.

"Water." He spoke as he held it out, "We'll get you some food too. But don't eat too much or too fast, your body will reject it from being starved."

"...Thanks." She muttered, swiping the canteen away from him and taking a drink. Despite his kindness she was still suspicious about this man and his intentions.

She took a drink and the water washed over them and cleared out the blood that had accumulated in her mouth. Reiner had moved away from her to rummage through their supplies, quickly returning with some kind of military ration – it wasn't one she was familiar with though, Zeke must have brought it from wherever it was he came.

"I'm Zeke, by the way." The bespectacled man said, "Zeke Yeager. I'm sure you know my younger brother."

"Somewhat. We weren't close... but we trained together." Priscilla responded between tiny bites of her ration, "Titan Shifting runs in the family, does it?"

"I guess you could say that..." He smirked, but Zeke didn't want to continue on that, not yet anyway, so he redirected back to her, "I bet there is much you want to know about us, but I'm actually quite curious about you as well."

"Why?" She responded with hostility.

"Reiner said you're... Different. Although anyone could deduce that from how you look," Zeke started, "I know a bit about about a strange pale race who abandoned this island to find solutions to their problems on the mainland, but they perished. They had great power, allegedly... I'm willing to bet you're one of these people."

"Perished?!" She exclaimed, eyes shooting wide open, "They're all dead?"

"I'm afraid so," Said Zeke, "But why would just one be left behind, I wonder..."

"Well, nobody ever told me why," Priscilla replied bitterly. Just as she was about to sink her teeth back into her food, her stomach began to grow uneasy so she put the ration aside for now, "They left but mama and papa said they'd be back for me someday... I was a dumb kid, and I kept believing it in the back of my mind."

"I'm sure this isn't easy for you to deal with right now, but could you tell me where you lived prior to being left by yourself?"

This was something she'd always kept to herself. Priscilla knew absolutely no-one would ever believe her if she told them, even Reiner surely would have laughed at her claim – and now she was feeling guilty for never even _trying_ to tell him, but the subject never really came up. He never got into his hometown and she didn't either. It was unpleasant for her to think about what she lost and could only assume Reiner felt the same. With a sharp exhale, Priscilla looked directly into Zeke's eyes and let the truth be known.

"...Outside." She answered simply. All three men leaned in close.

" _Outside_?" Zeke pressed.

"The Walls." She clarified, "My home is outside the Walls."

While Zeke looked quite satisfied with this, Reiner and Bertolt were flabbergasted by her answer. There was NO way for humans to live outside of the Walls of this Island, they'd be hunted down by Titans and exterminated within hours. Any population out there would be obliterated. To live outside them would be breaking a fundamental rule of the Island's nature and it's inhabitants.

"It's against the law to be outside the Walls, how did you get inside them?" Bertolt asked.

"I was too young to understand anything, especially how they could have done that without getting into any trouble," She said, "No idea how they pulled it off, but... here we are!"

 _Here we are..._

What Priscilla had just said lingered in her mind. They were 'here' – but where was 'here' anyway? She'd rather hear more from Reiner, as Zeke had been the more dominant conversation partner, so she turned to her dearest love instead. Priscilla lunged towards him and grabbed both of his hands tightly.

"Where are we, Reiner? How did I get here?" She asked desperately.

"Shiganshina District." He simply answered, "I found you wandering outside of Wall Rose while scouting to see if any of those dogs were coming for us, but I only found you."

"Shiganshina..." Priscilla murmured to herself, "This is where it all started..."

"What were you doing in Titan territory alone, anyway?" Zeke asked, inserting himself back into the exchange.

"Reiner told me about him being the Armored Titan and the other soldiers figured that I must have known about it, or at least their involvement with Annie, because of how close he and I are," Priscilla explained, "They imprisoned me, tortured me and put me on trial where they declared me a traitor to humanity and cast me out."

"You clearly went a long enough time without water that you should have died. It only takes a few days to die of intense dehydration," He responded, stroking his bearded chin, "That must be connected to your potential power..."

"What power?!" She shouted, "I don't have any power!"

Priscilla getting so worked up was sapping away the small amount of strength she had recovered from the food and her body started to drift backwards, thankfully Reiner was attentive enough to grab her again to keep her upright. She didn't mind the exhaustion because it meant she had an excuse to be laying against Reiner's firm body.

"That remains to be seen..." Zeke chuckled, and then looked to Reiner, "Search for her home. Bring her with you. We may find more answers that way."

"What kind of answers would we need?" Bertolt asked.

"An answer to destroying the devils on this island. Forever."

"H-How?!" Bertolt exclaimed, "Are you saying she's a Shifter? All the Nine are accounted for."

"I don't have enough information yet, but we can rule out a shifter. If she is a member of this elusive pale race... then she is definitely not Eldian." Zeke explained. He then looked to Reiner, "Do you understand your orders?"

"I do." Reiner answered swiftly.

"Perfect. For now, we all need our rest, the lady especially... You two will depart at dawn," Zeke instructed. Zeke recalled that when he introduced himself, he never caught this strange girl's name, "How rude of me... What is your name, miss?"

"My name is Priscilla Ziegler." She answered.

"A pretty name for a pretty girl, I won't forget it." Zeke smiled warmly. Reiner was less than pleased with this flirtatious comment though, "Bertolt!" Zeke called to grab his comrade's attention.

"Yes sir!" Bertolt stood at attention.

"I'm sure Miss Ziegler won't want to share a tent with me, so why don't you let her sleep with Reiner and you move into my tent?"

"Y-Yes... of course."

Reiner then helped Priscilla to her feet. He made sure she brought along the ration and canteen so she could sip and nibble every so often if she needed to. Reiner escorted her to the tent he normally shared with Bertolt and showed her inside. It was just big enough for two people to sleep in, but being in close quarters wouldn't be an issue for the lovers. He laid her down gently and followed suit, pulling her in close to him. They faced one another, staring into each others eyes. A long silence fell between the two as they laid together.

"I'm sorry." Reiner said meekly after the tense silence. It was always strange when he took that tone.

"For what?" Priscilla asked. Reiner averted his eyes.

"If I never told you about me, you wouldn't have been exiled."

"...Do you believe in fate?" She asked seemingly out of the blue. Reiner looked at her curiously as she continued, "I do. You made me believe in it, and I think this whole situation is a clear example of fate in action."

"How do you mean?" He asked, returning his golden gaze to her. It was pretty cute when he was dense, it made Priscilla smirk.

"Like you said... If you didn't tell me, I would not have been exiled. I'd still be within the Walls, where everyone else would see you as an enemy, but how could I agree with that kind of thinking? I'd be miserable. I'd be made to fight against you. But instead... being thrown away and declared a traitor has lead me back to you," She explained with her tiny smirk evolving into a full-faced grin, "You see? Fate!"

"Heh... Suppose you're right." He agreed.

"Just like when we first met. Just like when I saw you on the street in my darkest days," She reminded him, "If we never met, where would I be? Still on the street? Still being sold to strange men for a night?"

Reiner's expression dropped and loathing churned inside him once more. He pulled her in closer to whisper in her ear.

"Don't... Talk about that." He said. She immediately felt like she was the dense one now.

"S-Sorry." Priscilla stammered, "I should have known you wouldn't want to hear about that anymore."

"It's fine," He dismissed the subject, "We're probably better off just going to sleep than sitting around talking."

"You're right..." Priscilla agreed, "Let's get comfy and rest."

Part of her ritual of getting comfy enough to sleep was to remove the more restricting clothing she wore, so she sat up and started to undress. Shoes and pants of course had to go, but the bra was the most crucial part of her attire that needed to be stripped off for her to sleep soundly. While she was undoing her shirt to get the bra off, Reiner ended up taking off his shirt as well. Priscilla noticed that he had discarded it and paused – a cute little thought came to mind.

"Hey..." She murmured, hearing a grunt of acknowledgment from behind her, "Lemme wear your shirt while we sleep?"

"I won't object to that." Reiner laughed softly.

With that, Priscilla shook off her own shirt and removed her bra before reaching for the shirt he had tossed away, which gave Reiner a quick glimpse of her breasts. She pulled it on and it was predictably huge on her, but it didn't matter, what mattered was that she was close to Reiner again. She looked down at herself with the large shirt covering her otherwise nearly bare body but was soon grabbed from behind by Reiner. He pulled her down into a tight spooning embrace with his ridiculously strong arms around her waist. Despite all that had transpired recently since revealing himself to everyone, Reiner felt at peace in that moment, a peace he had been longing for. Yet that wasn't all that he felt a desire for in that moment... but to call it a desire wasn't entirely accurate, it was more like a _need._

"Hmm... Reiner?" Priscilla whispered.

"What is it?" He replied in a low voice as well. But he knew exactly what she was about to ask.

"Are you _hard_ right now?" She teased, turning her head to face him as much as she could from that position. Whether or not he could see her smirk didn't matter to her much, "You've got it pressed up right against my ass, you think I don't feel it twitching?"

"Can't get anything past you, can I?" He responded with a hint of uncharacteristic embarrassment.

"Why so sheepish, Reiner?" Priscilla cooed as she turned her head back forward. She pressed her butt against him more and grinded up on his growing erection with a very satisfied look on her face, "We've already had sex twice now..."

Reiner exhaled heavily as she continued to apply more pressure with her plump rear end. If she kept it up he was going to end up losing control of himself, either by taking Priscilla for their third fuck or restrain himself from that and make a sticky mess in his pants. He struggled to find words, but the pale nymph in his arms had no problem filling the silence.

"Come on, let's do it." She urged in a quiet, sultry voice. Her hand crept to one of his and she laid hers atop it, then slowly started to guide it under her shirt.

" _Now?_ " Reiner asked incredulously, "Zeke and Bertolt... They're practically right next to us."

"Then we'll just have to be discreet..." Priscilla murmured in response.

It was not at all unusual for her to be very forward in what she desired. Even before they were having sex, if she wanted his attention, she god damn got it. Priscilla was a woman who knew what she wanted, and once she wants something, she _has_ to have it... and she _will_ get it. Reiner's body was ready to take her up on her offer and his mind was following suit, his lover's wanting of him was quickly outweighing him feeling awkward about getting laid with his comrades so close by.

Priscilla still had her hand on Reiner's as it rested on her abdomen, but then she started to move it upwards in a tantalizingly slow manner, leading his hand to her breast. He didn't need any more guidance, as soon as he felt her breast in his hand he gave it a light squeeze which elicited a tiny exhale of satisfaction from his partner. Her head laid back as he gently fondled her, exposing her neck more. Reiner brought his face closer and planted soft kisses on Priscilla's neck, which earned him a just barely audible moan from her. By now he was rock hard and eager to be inside of her again.

Priscilla muttered "one sec" and swiftly adjusted so that she could pull her panties down. She was quick about it because she didn't want to break the established flow of things. Reiner had a flashback to his studying and recalled that the position they were in already would probably be the best to go with for discretion purposes. Now he had to make a brief adjustment, he took his hand back from teasing her breast and undid his pants enough so that his cock could be freed. He didn't even need to remove his pants all the way, which seemed to be a theme with them. With both of the times they fucked previously he was partially clothed – his pants never got all the way off.

Reiner took his dick into one of his hands while Priscilla bent and lifted her leg just slightly, he started feeling around with his head that became slick with her wetness. While he couldn't see what he was doing, he was certain he was in the right spot. The official confirmation came when Priscilla breathed out a longing " _yes, there!"_ to urge him forward. With that, Reiner began the initial penetrating push into her pussy. However, from this angle it was more difficult than how they'd done it previously. With Priscilla on top, she had the freedom to spread her legs wide and more easily take him in. This position presented a bit more difficulty, which wasn't helped by their anatomical structure in the sexual regard. A large cock into a tight hole was never easy.

Priscilla tried to adjust her semi-lifted leg in an attempt to give her lover easier access to her, it wasn't a great deal of help but at least it was something. Reiner realized fully then that he was the one dominating the encounter this time – he was the one dictating the pace as opposed to the past where his nymph-like partner would take full control... but in that moment, she was more than happy to let Reiner take the reigns this time, she was rather tired after all. Reiner pushed his head as far as it would easily go in and pulled it back. He continued this, eventually working up to being able to get all the way in.

Feeling him inside once again made her tense up and clench her walls around his erection. Now that he had gotten in, he pressed himself close against her back and his hand reached around to return his attention to her breasts. All at once he started to massage her tit again while also slowly and tenderly making love to her. Reiner's lips found their way back to her neck where he alternated between kisses and light nibbles, much to her delight. Priscilla at that point was breathing heavily and allowing quiet moans to escape from her as Reiner pleasured her. Even though they weren't face to face, this position had it's own sensual intimacy to it. The slow pace, the light kissing of her neck... it was more romantic, in a way, than what they'd done already.

Reiner moaned into her slender neck as he slid in and out of her. His hand was still focused on that sweet softness of her chest, but another idea occurred to him. He teasingly ran a finger across her nipple before moving his hand away, brought it down her abdomen and continued all the way to her clit. Up til now she had used her dominance to pleasure that part of her, but Reiner was keen on bringing her to climax on his own. Priscilla trusted him unquestionably and had no problem being submissive.

" _Yes_." She murmured as soon as she felt his fingertips make contact with her already sensitive clit.

She wanted Reiner to be in control of when and how she got off that night. He held her close as he continued to thrust in and out at a steady pace. Reiner lightly stroked at her, applying only a slight amount of pressure to start with. Priscilla bit her lip and exhaled sharply as he fingered her. Her growing arousal only further fueled his own, she had completely submitted to him – allowing him to do as he pleased with her while she just got to melt into him and enjoy it. She felt so at peace and comfortable while also so aroused. This, to her, was what love meant. Absolute trust and comfort while another person handles you sexually, accompanied by the fluttering in her chest she felt whenever he made any sort of noise or felt his hot breath on her neck.

Reiner kept his thrusting at the same, slow pace as he put most of his focus on the fingering. It required a bit more effort, and it was effort he wanted to put at the forefront. He circled his fingers around and around, and then would switch to up and down motions. Light pressure, harder pressure. When he would change up his movements he felt Priscilla tremble against him in pleasure. He couldn't see her face, but he could tell she was trying her damnedest not to make too much noise. Between chomping on her lower lip to stifle the noise to only allowing the tiniest, quietest whimpers to be heard otherwise.

Reiner continued to tease her clit, delighting the both of them. Priscilla considered teasing her own nipples to have as many of her erogenous zones stimulated as realistically possible, but she decided against it, because she wanted her orgasm to strictly be caused by Reiner alone that night. No assistance from herself, it was to belong only to him. It would be his and his alone, completely relinquishing control of her body over to him.

Because she loved him.

"Please, keep going." She said, although it was less of a command and more of a beg.

Reiner grunted and moved his fingers faster. As he continued to work her, Priscilla had a hard time containing a high pitched whine – but them being heard was not even a concern anymore now that they were consumed in one another. In a way Reiner started to get greedy, he wanted to bring her to orgasm and he wanted it _now._ He wanted the satisfaction of bringing her the ultimate pleasure while also feeling her climax on his cock again. He sped up and gradually added more pressure. He was overcome with carnal desire, to the point that he felt bold enough to command his lover.

"Cum for me." He spoke, his words quiet but still dripping with lust.

This made Priscilla gasp loudly and utter "yes, yes" quietly. Reiner kept his quick fingering pace, while still fucking her gently, and he felt her whole body go tense against his. She was locked in that state of erotic tension for just a few moments before she let out a cry of release and her whole body shook. Reiner then started thrusting into her as deep as he could from that position. It was still slow and sensual. But he didn't need a rough and fast fuck to cum, feeling her own climax while he was inside of her was so satisfying on a physical and emotional level that he easily ejaculated once he felt her squeeze around his cock combined with hearing her cry of ecstasy.

Both of them were breathing heavily now that they'd cum, both of them getting their satisfaction. Reiner spent the remaining time of his cock being hard post-ejaculation slowly going in and out a bit more, before slowing to a complete stop. The hand that he fingered with traveled back upwards so that he wrapped it across her stomach for a tight embrace.

For a while, neither of them moved at all anymore or even spoke. It was Priscilla who finally broke the silence.

"This... right now, this is perfect. I want this to last for eternity... For us to always be this way," She began, "I love you, Reiner."

Reiner squeezed her tightly before whispering in her ear:

"I love you too."

He heard her let out the most content sigh he'd ever heard, and he felt the same... However, something in the back of his mind started tying up his stomach in knots. He didn't want this moment to be ruined by that though and he forced himself not to think about it... But as much as he tried, the word 'eternity" wouldn't leave him – because he knew all to well there was no such thing as eternity.

* * *

 _Oh, my dearest Adrestia... He is not your fate, he's a disposable means to an end. I am your destiny. Only when we are together can we bring the reckoning and rid the world of the Eldian menace once and for all... The choice she's made to let that Eldian touch her is truly sickening. I'd rather not have to be subjected to more of that, but I can't help but watch her. Equal parts fascinating and disgusting. The Warriors are taking longer than I'd like to return to Marley, but the wait will be worth it._

 _Keep Adrestia safe for me, Reiner Braun, so she can be the one to kill you._

* * *

Priscilla awoke the next morning, but it was still dark. She slowly sat up and glanced over to Reiner, he was sleeping soundly so she was glad that she didn't wake him. Priscilla could smell coffee being brewed outside so she carefully exited the tent to see what was up. Zeke sat by their fire while he waited for the coffee to be done.

"Day won't break for another hour, go back to sleep." Said Zeke without even looking up at her.

"Too uncomfortable." Priscilla responded flatly.

"These sleeping arrangements don't live up to your standards, Miss Ziegler?" Zeke chuckled.

"It's not that... It's my..." She began sheepishly, but quickly realized she didn't want to tell Zeke any more about her discomfort, "Never mind, it's not important."

"Why do you assume I can't help make you more comfortable?" The blonde asked, finally looking up at her. Priscilla grimaced.

" _It's personal._ " She sneered bitterly, "I know for a fact that you wouldn't be able to do anything, so forget I even mentioned it."

Zeke wasn't pleased with her keeping whatever was bothering her private since she had vaguely 'teased' her problem and then didn't follow through. The pale girl exhaled sharply and looked away from him and out towards the lands beyond the wall they sat atop. She knew that soon she and Reiner would be venturing out there to find her home and it filled her with anticipation as well as fear.

"Have it your way," Zeke sighed, trying not to sound too frustrated with her, "I know you don't trust me, but in all honesty your well being is in my best interests."

"...I have been a bit rude," Priscilla conceded, "Sorry."

"Apology accepted." Said Zeke.

Zeke inhaled the aroma of the coffee deeply as he reached for a small cup to pour the fresh brew into. After pouring some, he motioned for Priscilla to come have a seat next to him. The girl hesitated at first, but gradually made her way over and sat across from Zeke as opposed to right next to him. The blaze of not trusting strange men still burned within her.

"Where did you three come from?" Priscilla asked out of nowhere.

"We originally are from a country across the ocean called Marley," Zeke explained, "The world beyond the confines of Paradis Island is far larger than you could imagine – full of all sorts of different people with different ideologies."

"Are there Titans on the other side of the ocean?" Priscilla pressed on.

"There are us shifters from Marley." Zeke spoke and Priscilla's eyes went wide with wonder, "There are plenty of Eldians in Marley, but they're contained in Internment Zones. We do transform Eldian prisoners for our warfare though..."

"What _is_ an Eldian, anyway?"

"The people of Eldia, the subjects of Ymir Fritz. Every Eldian carries the curse of Ymir which means they can be transformed into a Titan. There's no other race who bears this curse," Zeke went on, but then got ponderous, "A great way to prove you're not Eldian would be to try and transform you..."

"I'd rather not be made into your little science experiment." Priscilla responded curtly.

"My apologies, Miss Ziegler," Zeke laughed, "Just thinking out loud..."

"So let me try to piece this together..." Priscilla began, "The people of this island are Eldians, who are humans that can become Titans. That means you three are Eldians. Reiner said he was here to kill the devils on this island, so that means your goal is to kill the Eldians? When you're also Eldian?"

"The devils here don't understand the sins of their past, but we on the mainland do. We recognize we must atone for the sake of restoring the Eldian empire, which requires that the Eldians of Paradis Island are wiped out." Zeke continued, "Do you know what the Walls are made of, Miss Ziegler?"

"No..."

"Colossal Titans. Millions of them," Zeke revealed, "Eren possesses the Founding Titan, and when this shifter comes into contact with a descendant of the Fritz royal family, he can activate the 'coordinate' and awaken these Wall Titans. Then... they would destroy the entire world."

Priscilla was getting hit with a massive information dump and it was making her head spin. Her brows furrowed as she stared silently at Zeke while she processed everything, or at least tried to.

"Eliminating these devils is not our only goal. We need to retake the Founder to prevent them from terrorizing the rest of the world..." Zeke murmured, "It's for the greater good. Do you understand?"

"I really don't care about understanding your goals that much," Priscilla admitted bluntly, "I only care about Reiner..."

"Understanding his goals is a good way to further understand the man himself, is it not?" Zeke countered.

"...Fair enough." Priscilla replied. She agreed with him proving her wrong but didn't want to give him the satisfaction of saying the exact words 'you're right.' She then rose to her feet and started to shuffle back to the tent, "I think I've had enough talking for now."

The pale girl slouched down to enter the tent again where Reiner was still sleeping peacefully. He had shifted onto his side during his slumber since she had left. Priscilla carefully crawled over to him and laid beside him, wrapping her arms around him from behind and resting her head against his muscled back. The previous anxieties she felt about going back home flooded back to her and sent a shiver down her spine. While pressed up against him, she felt a pang of discomfort in her chest that made her wince slightly.

 _Why are they so sore...?_


	11. Chapter IX Part I: Holy Ground

**A/N: Lol decided to release this to celebrate the anime coming back. This part features no smut but boy do I hope you like PLOT EXPOSITION DUMP BECAUSE YOU'RE IN FOR PLENTY, AND THERE'S MORE TO COME. Smut should be in the next part though A HEHEHE.**

 **Chapter IX Part 1: Holy Ground**

 _Hopefully we will be able to understand it someday **  
**We are walking to the other side of the horizon **  
**Hopefully we will be able to understand it someday **  
**We are walking firmly_

"Why are you sending us out during the day?" Reiner asked Zeke as he geared up with his ODM equipment, "Won't it be safer at night when the Titans are inactive?"

"Trust me, it won't make a difference," Zeke confidently assured his fellow Warrior, "It's all part of my theory that I want to test out, and should trouble arise, your Armor will be enough to take down any threat... but I really don't think you'll find yourself in a combat situation."

"How can you be so sure?" Reiner pressed. He knew in his Titan form he would be fine and that no other Titans would be drawn to him, but he was worried for his lady. He could never live with himself if he couldn't protect her from being devoured by a pure Titan.

"Think about it..." Zeke began, "She wandered outside Wall Rose without a problem. If it was a pure coincidence that no Titans pursued her, it would be an incredible one... Don't you think?"

Just as Zeke finished his brief explanation, Priscilla emerged from her tent fully dressed and ready to go. She ran her slender fingers through her hair to work out any knots that may have formed while she slept and then gave it a final smoothing over from root to tip. Of course it wasn't just her slumber that left her with bedhead, another night of heated passion with Reiner definitely helped mess it up some. The girl approached the other two, but Bertolt as nowhere to be seen. Since he had no part in the day's mission he was still sleeping in his tent for the time being.

Once Priscilla had preened herself enough, she stood beside Reiner and gave him a sweet look, which he returned in his own, more subdued way. Zeke had been paying attention to how they behaved with one another, Reiner had made it clear that she was greatly important to him... but Zeke wasn't blind and could tell that it was more than just an innocent crush – and especially after last night he knew that things were _very_ physical between them. Making any sort of remark about it now was something he deemed to be unwise, however – he didn't need either of them being distracted from their important task.

"Did you get any more rest, Miss Ziegler?" Zeke asked. Reiner looked at him puzzled, "Ah, you must not have noticed. She had trouble sleeping and had woken up earlier, she and I chatted a bit."

"I think I'm rested enough, thank you." She responded, trying to sound as polite as possible despite still being addled by a tiny bit of lingering grogginess. Zeke grabbed a backpack that he had laid at his feet and held it out to Priscilla.

"Perfect... Now, a final quick rundown for you both: find her home and search for anything regarding it's former residents or anything you think could be valuable. I expect you not to return empty handed. And be as swift as possible. Time is of the essence and it's working against us."

"Understood." Reiner said. Priscilla took the bag from Zeke.

"Excellent. Now, get moving."

Without any hesitation, Reiner produced a combat knife. He moved towards the edge of the Wall and fearlessly leaped from it. He didn't fall far before he took the bladed end of the knife into his free hand and sliced deeply, triggering his transformation into the Armored Titan. With a thunderous crash he landed on the ground below in a kneeling position. Priscilla ran over to the edge and looked down, seeing him rise to his feet fully and turn to face her.

"Jump," Zeke spoke, "He'll catch you."

"Right," She responded, then raised her voice to call down to the Titan, "Be gentle with me!"

She didn't even take a moment to prepare before she flung herself from atop the wall. She was used to having the ODM gear to ensure she could fly through the air without fear, but the feeling of free falling was far more exhilarating. As she descended further and further, the Armored Titan reached up and caught her. He was sure to make a firm catch, but not so tight that it would hurt her. All her limbs were totally restricted by his grasp, so she shouted a suggestion up to him.

"Why don't you put me on your head?" She called out, "I can hold onto your hair and pull in the direction to guide you where to go?"

The Titan let out a low but understanding rumble and obliged. He raised her up to the top of his head and carefully released her from his grasp. Priscilla eagerly crawled on and made sure to hold on tightly, putting herself at a good vantage point to direct him.

"All set!" She shouted and gave him a firm pat pat.

With that, the Titan turned and began sprinting off. He crossed the ruins of the city and headed for the hole that would lead them beyond the confines of the Walls. Zeke watched them from their camp and murmured "Godspeed" under his breath. Reiner's footfalls grew fainter and fainter at a rapid pace as he ran out into the most uncharted territory of that island, soon to disappear completely.

* * *

Riding atop the head of a sprinting Titan was like nothing Priscilla had ever experienced before. Being on horseback or using the ODM gear didn't even come close. She wanted to throw her arms into the air above her head and revel in the freedom of it, but the sheer force of his speed would knock her straight off, so she held tightly and stayed low.

As they traveled Priscilla was able to spot several groups of Titans of varying size wandering around in the distance. They of course wouldn't care about Reiner in his Titan form but they weren't even attracted to her, which she reasoned away by the two of them being too far from any of the pure Titans on the prowl. She couldn't spend too much time pondering that subject, she needed to focus on where they were going.

"...LEEEEEEEFT!" She shouted and gave Reiner several firm smacks on his head after yanking his blonde hair a bit, "HANG LEEEEEEFT!"

Priscilla couldn't be sure exactly how she knew where to go, something in her brain just popped up and guided her. Once Reiner shifted his course a large, dense forest with incredibly tall trees could be seen in the distance.

"There! That's gotta be it!" She exclaimed.

They had already been traveling for a while and Priscilla could tell the stamina of her Titan companion was wearing thin from the constant running. With her declaring that their destination was within sight, Reiner's resolve was renewed. He forced himself forward as fast as he could, keeping his eyes on the thick forest that they were rapidly approaching. Priscilla held on tight as Reiner pushed onward with what remained of his strength.

Once they reached the line of huge trees, Reiner came to a sudden stop. The fatigued Titan fell forward clumsily in his exhaustion, sending Priscilla tumbling off his head and across the ground. It reminded her of when he first revealed himself as being the Armored Titan. The girl groaned and rubbed her head as Reiner emerged from his Titan body. He less than gracefully stumbled and fell to the ground, letting out a groan of his own. Priscilla crawled over to him and once she was next to Reiner she sat up and pulled him close so that his upper body rested against her.

"Think you overdid it a bit?" She asked.

"It's not like we could have taken a break..." He responded in a low voice, "It's too dangerous out here."

"Yeah..." Priscilla agreed, then looked back towards the thick woods, "We have to be close now, can you stand?"

"I could use some help to get started." He admitted.

Priscilla rose to her feet and then knelt down to pull Reiner's arm over her shoulders so she could help him until his strength returned. The pair then made their way slowly towards the trees, unsure of what awaited them. Once they crossed into the woods, it seemed like there wasn't much there to be seen... just a thick sea of trees. Priscilla was certain they were in the right place though, she could feel it in her heart that she was close to home somehow, like something was guiding her to where she needed to be. After a few minutes of traveling Reiner had regained his strength and was able to walk on his own. Being the chivalrous gentleman that he was, he grabbed his lady by the hand and took the lead in a protective manner.

"You sure we're in the right place?" He asked as they ventured deeper and deeper.

"I'm certain." Priscilla responded.

She gave his hand a tight squeeze – honestly she was feeling pretty nervous. Priscilla wanted to believe that maybe they'd find some people still there and that Zeke was wrong about everyone dying, but if some still remained, why did nobody ever come for her? The thought that there were still people in her hometown but never cared to return to her was a feeling just as bad as them all being dead, if not worse.

The pair finally emerged into an open area and were stunned by what they saw. To call the place a town wouldn't quite do it justice, from what they could see it would be more accurate to call it a large sized city. Priscilla's heart sank though as it was immediately evident that this place was long abandoned. Vines and foliage had overgrown and covered the structures that made up this mysterious place. The buildings were in disrepair but even in their now dilapidated state one could tell that at one point they were very well constructed and lavish.

The two only stared for a moment before Reiner pulled Priscilla along gently again. As they traveled along they encountered a wide open square, where in the center was an enormous statue depicting a woman laying on her side and resting peacefully on a giant stone slab. The statue was made of some white material even though it had been dirtied up over the years, but it wasn't entirely white – the figure's eyes were slightly open and within the sockets were green gems to represent the eyes. They approached it, and as they got closer Reiner noticed something carved into the huge stone base.

"The hell... It's a bunch of weird runes..." He muttered, giving the engraving closer examination. Priscilla moved beside him and took a look for herself.

"' _May our beloved Moon Goddess Priska ever smile upon her divine children in Hyperia._ '" She read out loud. Reiner looked over at her with a puzzled expression.

"You can read that?" He asked.

"Yeah I can..." She confirmed, sounding a bit amazed with herself, "I think... I can speak whatever language this is too."

"You never told me you spoke any other language." An amused Reiner responded.

"I must have forgotten..." She murmured, and reached out to run her hands over the strange but familiar runes, "The last time I was here I was only six years old. It's no wonder I forgot."

"Yet it came back to you right away just now."

"Yeah..." She replied, still in a very quiet voice, "Must be like riding a bike."

"...Did you ever learn to ride a bike?"

"Well _no_ but... You know what I mean, Reiner!" She huffed, and then added through gritted teeth as her face flushed red, " _It's an expression_."

Reiner snickered, he loved to get her all flustered like that, and a little levity in a tense situation never hurt either.

"So, it's safe to say that this place is called Hyperia," Reiner began, getting them back on task, "And given that there's a huge statue of this Goddess we can assume she was worshiped here."

"And her name..." Priscilla shakily breathed. Reiner was on the same page.

"Yeah. Similar but not quite the same," He said what they were both thinking, "Similar enough to be weird, but it could just be a coincidence. Plenty of cultures name people after the Gods or other figures of significant power that they worship."

"I guess you're right..."

Reiner could tell that Priscilla was growing uneasy the more they thought about this Priska, the cold and distant look in her eyes was more than enough to signal that worry was bubbling within her.

"Let's keep looking around." Reiner suggested.

"Maybe we can find something in my old house?" Priscilla threw her own suggestion out there.

"Good idea," Reiner said, then gave her a clap on the shoulder, "Lead the way."

"I'll uh, I'll try." She responded with a slight air of uncertainty.

"Pft, you were able to find this place so I'm sure you can locate your old home no problem." He added, hoping to instill some confidence in her. Priscilla nodded and surveyed the immediate area to try and jog her memory, or whatever it was that had spurred her in the right direction so far.

"That way." She spoke, pointing to the right, "There's a residential area a little ways in that direction."

Now it was her turn to take _him_ by the hand and guide them along through the abandoned city. They walked along for a little while, crossing a short bridge that was built over a crystal clear river, before arriving in a neighborhood that would have looked very nice back before the place fell to ruin. She didn't have any other residential areas to compare it to from memory but it seemed like it'd be considered more on the upscale side. It would make sense for the upper class to be closest to the city center, as opposed to whatever the lower class areas were like – those would be on the outskirts of the city. Priscilla didn't even take a moment to pause and went straight for what she knew was her house. It was a two story residence that, back when it was clean, would have been white, but now it was stained with age and overgrown foliage just like the rest of Hyperia.

The two of them stood in front of the house for a few moments. Priscilla stomach had been churning since they arrived in Hyperia but now her nerves were reaching their peak as she stared down her old home. Her mind was so morbidly curious as to what they might find in there, she wanted desperately to know but it also made her anxious to face what it could be. Zeke's words from earlier rang through her.

 _I expect you not to come back empty handed._

What if they found nothing of value in her home? Would the fact that the Hyperians worshiped a moon goddess and knowing her name even be relevant to Zeke? Or did he want some hard physical evidence of something? If nothing was in her house, would they have to scour the rest of the city to find something? All these things just built upon Priscilla's woes further. While she was getting lost in her anxiety she didn't even realize she was holding her breath, which resulted in a sudden sharp exhale through her nose before she proceeded.

Priscilla pushed open the front door and lead Reiner across the threshold. The inside was dreary and there was dust everywhere, but besides that everything was still in it's place as far as she could tell. Clearly the inhabitants of this abode left peacefully, if there was any sort of panic or danger that drove them to depart suddenly then surely things would be in disarray. The area they immediately found themselves in was a large living room, furnished with two couches adjacent to one another, shelves with all sorts of books and trinkets, some standing lamps as well as a basic chandelier for light, end tables beside each couch, a large coffee table in front of them and a fireplace; paintings adorned the walls as well. Many casual social gatherings were sure to have taken place here, Priscilla could almost hear echoes of laughter from days long gone by.

"Through the door to the right is the kitchen and dining room," Priscilla began, "The other door on that side leads to a bathroom... to the left is father's study... then on the second floor are the bedrooms, a spare room and another bathroom."

"I think we should go through your father's study first," Said Reiner, "I have a feeling that's where anything important would be kept."

Priscilla nodded and the two of them strode over to the ornate wooden door. A figure of a woman was carved into it, likely another rendering of Priska. Priscilla reached for the doorknob and gave it a twist, but it didn't budge.

"Nhhgh..." She grunted, grabbing at it with both hands, "It's locked..."

"Stand back." Reiner instructed, moving Priscilla aside.

The pale woman raised an eyebrow and let out a barely audible "huh?" But Reiner didn't hesitate in making clear what he was doing. Leading with his shoulder, he charged forward and broken open the door as if it were nothing. Within the study were a couple more bookcases, a desk with a lamp on it and of course a chair too. Reiner entered first with Priscilla on his heels. A detail that both of them noticed when they first entered was a small family portrait sitting in a frame on the desk – even when enveloped in his work, Priscilla's father kept his family nearby.

Priscilla stared at it from afar curiously. She'd never seen a picture like that before, it was if it were perfectly captured from real life, it wasn't a drawn or painted portrait like the framed images on the walls of the living room.

"It's a photograph..." Reiner observed as he picked it up, "But Paradis doesn't have this kind of technology."

"The hell is a photograph?" A puzzled Priscilla asked.

"Err it's hard to explain, but there's something a bit more important about this right now," He began and gestured for her to come to him. Priscilla approached and looked closer at the image, "Who's this?" He added.

Priscilla leaned in to get a better look. In the picture there was of course her mother and father, but there was also a long haired boy some years older than her present as well. She furrowed her brow.

"I uh... I don't know," She admitted.

"Maybe a brother you've forgotten about? Why else would he be pictured with you and your parents?"

"How could I possibly forget that I had a brother?" She asked, eyes still fixed on the boy.

"You forgot that you knew a whole 'nother language so it's not _that_ weird, is it?"

"But it came back to me once I saw it again, looking at this picture... I've got nothing. He's a stranger to me as far as I know."

"Huh..." He said, then put the small framed portrait back down on the desk, "No time to waste on that, we have to look around to find out more about this place and..."

"And me." Priscilla finished.

"Yeah..."

Reiner wasn't entirely comfortable with Zeke looking at his woman as a mysterious experiment and he was well aware that it bothered Priscilla too, but the man was at a loss for words that could comfort her. So he did what he thought was best and proceeded with their mission. Reiner immediately started rummaging through the drawers and cabinets of the desk, finding tons of documents and notebooks. Priscilla turned to one of the bookcases and started reading over the spines of the books for anything that stood out. Reiner of course couldn't recognize any of the text in the documents he was pulling out, so translating all this would fall on Priscilla's shoulders.

Priscilla had a much easier time deciphering what could be helpful given she could understand the symbols that adorned the spines of the many books. The first shelf she perused was devoted to academia like math and science – she noticed a great deal of the scientific texts were focused on anatomy, specifically reproductive biology. She wasn't sure exactly if any of the information within would be of use, but she pulled a few of the science books off the shelf anyway. On the next shelf was a thick book with a very eye catching, but simple and straightforward title.

 _History of Hyperia_

Priscilla removed the backpack that Zeke had given her and sat it on the ground to stuff the science books in there to look through later, the history book seemed more pressing. She cracked it open and looked over the table of contents.

 _I. Goddess Priska of the Moon_

 _II. Priska's Grand Betrayal_

 _II. The Exile and Curse_

 _III. Born of the Body_

 _IV. Early Hyperian Society_

 _V. The Righteous Task of The Hyperians_

 _VI. Death and Rebirth_

Priscilla flipped through the book quickly, noting that there were illustrations on many of the pages along with lots of text to accompany them. The images were very beautiful and intricately drawn with great attention to detail, some pages in full color. The pictures of Priska gave a more accurate look at her, although it wasn't much different than what the statue portrayed... her body and hair were both perfectly white and her eyes were a gorgeous shade of green.

"Find something?" Reiner asked, approaching from behind and looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I only took a glance but this book seems like it could give us the insight we need... Or that Zeke needs," Priscilla responded, "Guess we ought to get into them."

"Maybe we should search the rest of the house first," Reiner suggested, "We haven't even gone upstairs yet."

"Right..." Priscilla murmured.

She felt a knot in her stomach forming again – upstairs is where all the bedrooms were... where _her_ bedroom was. With the history book still in hand, Priscilla picked up the book bag and put it in there as well. Reiner reached over and placed the documents he'd picked up inside it as well. The pair left the study and went straight for the staircase. The once shiny polished wood creaked beneath their steps as they made their ascent. Once they reached the second floor they paused, Reiner waited for Priscilla to tell him where to go.

"The door to our left is the bathroom... first on our right is mom and dad's room, the spare is next to it... and the door straight ahead leads to my room."

"Where to first?" He asked after he got the run down, and then added lightheartedly, "I think we can rule out the bathroom at least."

Priscilla let out a soft hum of acknowledgment while her gaze shifted between the remaining three doors. Before speaking she started to march forward towards her old bedroom. She grabbed the handle, twisted it and pushed the door open with ease. She was instantly hit with a wave of shock, letting out a tiny gasp.

"Two..." She whispered as she stared wide eyed into her old room.

"Two?" Reiner echoed, "Two what?"

"Beds." She clarified as she turned to look back at him, "I shared my room with someone... That boy in the picture?"

Reiner could see Priscilla was growing more distressed over this boy that she had once shared her home with, a boy that could be her brother or maybe a close cousin that lived with her family, but a sibling seemed more likely. She dropped her bag and frantically ran over to his bed, above the headboard was a quaint sign with the word "Anteros" carved into it, perhaps it was the boy's name. Priscilla then darted to her old bed, and similarly there was a sign above hers as well. But the word engraved in her sign wasn't "Priscilla" – it said "Adrestia." Her eyes then fell to the bed itself. Of course there were pillows and blankets, but resting on top was a stuffed animal. The pale girl's face contorted as a stressful mixture of emotions surged through her body.

The plush toy was a lavender unicorn who's mane and tail were white. The fabric that covered it's horn was glittery. As if something within her soul compelled her to do so, she suddenly grabbed it and clutched it tightly to her chest and let out a shuddering breath. The soft and fuzzy horned horse brought her a brief moment of relief for some reason – was it nostalgia? – but everything being thrown at her was overwhelming to the point that a little toy from her youth could only do so much to soothe her.

"Let's look in my parent's room and then the spare..." She said quietly, moving towards where she'd dropped her books. While still holding onto the unicorn, she picked up the texts she had carelessly tossed aside.

The two left her old room and shut the door behind them, quickly making for Priscilla's parent's room. Upon opening the door they saw what was easily the largest bedroom, it was no surprise that the adults had the master. The bed was huge and very comfy looking with a canopy. More photographs were placed around the room – many of Priscilla and the mystery boy, presumably "Anteros," together. There were plenty of just her mom and dad, but their children and whole family photos were the main focus. There was a vanity where old cosmetics and perfumes still sat and a few dressers as well as a closet. There were no books to be found, even upon looking through the dressers and closet.

All that remained was the guest room. The two brought all they'd found so far and entered it, but there wasn't much to see. There was a simple but still comfortable looking bed, bigger than Priscilla's but smaller than her parent's bed. A small table was next to it with a lamp, it was very bare bones. Reiner sighed.

"Nothing here either." He said.

"Yeah. Maybe we should take a look at what we have." She suggested.

Reiner nodded. Priscilla wandered over to the bed and plopped onto it, setting her bag of books down next to her with the unicorn plush too. Reiner followed and sat on her other side. All the literature they found was of course written in the Hyperian language, so Reiner would have to rely on Priscilla translating it to him. The thought crossed his mind that if she came across something especially... interesting, she might choose not to tell him, but Reiner immediately knocked that idea out of his head. He was confident she wouldn't lie to him... Zeke and Bertolt though? That could be a different story.

Which roused another worrisome thought in Reiner. What if Priscilla asked him not to tell the other two some piece of info for some reason? He would die before he betrayed his love, but at the same time he had a duty. He had specific commands... Anything valuable had to be reported. Reiner felt a great deal of shame over the fact that he had to question himself on this – as a Warrior of Marley he needed to follow his Warchief and not his heart.

But he wasn't sure if he could bear to do that.

While Reiner was getting lost in thought, Priscilla had picked up the book on anatomy and physiology and cracked it open. There was a brief foreword before anything educational was presented.

"It's just a rundown of what's in the book, author's name... stuff like that," Priscilla informed the silently curious Reiner, "I don't think that's very relevant."

"Me neither."

Turning the page lead them to detailed diagrams. There largely didn't seem to be any difference between the Hyperian body and any other human in the world.

"Huh look at this..." Priscilla said, pointing at a picture of a male and female side by side with a blurb of text between them, so she read it aloud for Reiner, " _'All members of our race bear similar physical traits. While things like height, weight, fat distribution, bone structure etc etc etc have variety, each Hyperian has the exact same skin, eye and hair color. These similarities are indicative of the purity of our people. There are no normal humans in the world who resemble the Hyperians in that way._ "

" _Normal_ humans?" Reiner echoed. Priscilla shrugged and then went on to thumb through the next pages.

"Pretty basic stuff... Like anything you'd see in any anatomy textbook..." She murmured. Priscilla started to skip pages assuming there was nothing of interest to be found. But once she reached the portion on the reproductive system, she slowed back down because she saw the word 'Eldian' appear. She cleared her throat before beginning to orate the passage.

" _'Structurally the Hyperian reproductive system is the same as normal humans, as is the method of conception. Following sexual intercourse where the male ejaculates inside of his female partner, the sperm found in the male's semen will fertilize the female's egg. The fertilized egg will then travel to the uterus and implant itself in the lining. By now the egg can be called an embryo, which will eventually develop into a fetus. The difference lies in_ _ **who**_ _Hyperians can breed with._

 _Due to Priska's Curse, Hyperians cannot procreate with Eldians – and while it is possible for them to reproduce with other races, it is strictly forbidden and undesirable. The Hyperians must maintain their racial purity at all costs. Since keeping the Hyperian bloodline intact and undiluted, inbreeding is common and even encouraged. Brothers and sisters would frequently marry and procreate, as well as blood related cousins. It is believed but not yet proven that the closer the parents are genetically, the stronger their offspring will be, which is the exact opposite of normal human biology. It has been confirmed that no genetic abnormalities arise due to the inbreeding. However, non-blood relations were not uncommon. Parent and child relationships, however, were forbidden.'_ "

Priscilla paused and stared wide eyed down at the words she just read. The basics of course weren't anything new, but the absurdity of the acceptance of incest as a common practice was making her feel sick. There was also the fact that the nebulous term "Priska's Curse" was mentioned so briefly and not expanded upon – it clearly played a major part in the Hyperian biology and Priscilla needed to know more... Her father's personal journal was calling to her as well though. When weighing the options the daunting text about the Hyperian history and the journal, the written works of her father seemed more easy to digest. The girl put the first book aside and took the journal in her hands...


	12. Ch IX Part II: The Price of Her Soul

_**Chapter IX Part 2: The Price of Her Soul**_

 _ _Tears, anger, compassion, cruelty  
Peace, chaos, faith, betrayal  
We will fight against our fate  
We must not give into our fate  
__

Priscilla paused and stared wide eyed down at the words she just read. The basics of course weren't anything new, but the absurdity of the acceptance of incest as a common practice was making her feel sick. There was also the fact that the nebulous term "Priska's Curse" was mentioned so briefly and not expanded upon – it clearly played a major part in the Hyperian biology and Priscilla needed to know more... Her father's personal journal was calling to her as well though. When weighing the options the daunting text about the Hyperian history and the journal, the written works of her father seemed more easy to digest. The girl put the first book aside and took the journal in her hands...

There was no time to go through every single entry, so Priscilla just skipped through and picked out random entries – if they were dull upon a quick skim, she moved on, but if they provided some interest then she read them out. So many of the entries were a bit on the boring side to her. Just a father gushing about his precious girl and his family in general, but little did she know something much darker was woven into the words and she eventually came upon them...

 _Today Amalia and I welcomed a beautiful daughter into the world. Her name is Adrestia – the first of our people to be born in ten years. It's very fitting as she was born just as Spring has begun... Anteros is thrilled to have a little sister, all of us are thrilled. She's perfectly healthy, which is the most important thing. It will be a long time before we can tell if she's the one, I truly fear she is the last hope of the Hyperian empire. We pray everyday for her to be the one to revive us... But for now, I want her to just grow up and enjoy her time as a carefree child before any burdens are placed on her fragile shoulders._

 _Adrestia is growing up nicely. She's almost never been sick! Just a healthy young girl in general, smart and curious too. She unfortunately has nobody her age to play with, the closest person in age to her is Anteros and he's ten years older than her – regardless of that, he absolutely adores Adrestia and spends all his time with her. Amalia is worried that she can no longer bear children, I reassure her constantly but honestly... I'm afraid too. It's been three years since we had Adrestia, no other births in the whole city since. It will still be many more years until we'll know if Adrestia is also affected by this crisis – it feels wrong to think about that when she's just a child, but with our people facing extinction, we need to look to the future. We need Adrestia to be able to breed when the time comes... for the sake of the greater good._

 _It has been six years since Adrestia was born and no other children have been conceived. Amalia and I have tried, everyone has tried... The crisis has reached it's peak. We as a people cannot wait around for some miracle to happen, we must proactively seek out help from other sources. Our only choice is to travel to the mainland, but Adrestia is far too young to make the journey. As much as it kills me to think this, all we can do is leave her within the walls until we resolve the fertility crisis, then we can return for her. We tried to explain this to Anteros but he doesn't want to accept it and ended up locking himself and Adrestia in their room. I could hear him through the door crying and saying "I won't let father leave you with those devils. You're mine. You're mine. Nobody can take you from me. Not father, not the devils..." Our decision has been made though and whether he likes it or not, he has to live with it._

 _Our people will soon start our pilgrimage. A total of a little over 30 of us Hyperians remain to seek help from the Marleyans, old age has claimed so many of us at this point. Adrestia and Anteros have a significant age gap from the adults of our society, being only six and sixteen respectively... the rest of us have reached middle age or older and things are starting to look grim for our once prosperous civilization. Amalia has been openly hysterical over leaving our daughter behind and Anteros remains full of resentment over it, he refuses to speak to me no matter how many promises I make that he'll have her back someday._

 _First we're heading to the Walls to place Adrestia in a safe place, and then towards the ocean where we will seek passage to the mainland. Our names will be seen as strange to the Eldians, so we've decided to give Adrestia one that fits their naming conventions better. Priscilla, a name to honor our progenitor Goddess, seemed appropriate. To the rest of the world she will now be known as Priscilla Ziegler. May Priska watch over her and keep her safe._

Priscilla stared down at her fathers journal that she held in her now trembling hands. For years she had longed to return home, to know about her family and her people – but now that she was learning the truth of it all, she wished she never pursued it. She wanted to erase what she just read from her mind, to purge it forever and never look back, but one cannot unlearn something just because it disturbs them, no matter how hard they wish so. Priscilla suddenly snapped the journal shut and threw it across the room – it collided with the far wall and landed on the floor with a soft thud.

The girl sprang to her feet, her breathing fast and shallow. Reiner's eyes darted from the book right back to Priscilla, a mixture of concern and shock on his face over the revelations the journal provided. With her hands balled into fists she started to pace around the room, convinced the motion would help her think.

"Is this all for real...?" She whispered, "It can't be. This isn't true, it can't be true... I refuse to believe it... This is a trick... I-It's a lie..."

She started to grab at her hair and run her fingers through it roughly, pulling at it harder than she should. She felt like she needed to keep herself as physically engaged as possible, thus speeding up her already frantic pacing as well. Priscilla felt her eyes start to water as the disgust she felt overwhelm her, and she could hold back her anger no more.

"My own _father_ was talking about how I needed to be _bred_!" Priscilla wailed as her eyes glistened with tears, "That's all my family was thinking about, ever since I was born apparently!"

"Priss..." Reiner murmured. The whole breeding thing was horrific to him as well, but he had to be the one to hold it together, as hard as it was to do that.

"What was gonna happen to me once I was old enough? Were they going to turn me into broodmare? And excuse it by saying it's for 'the greater good?'" She went on and on, growing more and more distraught.

Reiner was at a complete loss. There was no arguing that this whole situation was immensely twisted and it left him utterly stupefied. Seeing Priscilla upset hurt him deeply, but with how bizarre these revelations were, he had no idea how to offer her comfort. Maybe the best thing he could do was just listen to her hysterics and let her cry it out. Her back and forth pacing while trying to hold back the tears that threatened to burst into full blown sobs grew more and more frantic.

"You know what?!" She screamed, stopping and whipping her head towards Reiner, "I'm glad they're all dead! I hope Zeke is right, I hope every last one of them is long _fucking_ gone!"

"Priscilla!" Reiner shouted, lunging forward and grabbing her by the shoulders firmly, "You need to calm down!"

"R-Reiner..!" She breathed, mildly stunned. He lowered his voice back to a normal, calming volume before he spoke again.

"If what Zeke said is true and they are all dead, none of what was in your father's journal matters now. Nobody's going to dictate your life like that," He continued in a comforting tone. He slowly moved closer and shifted his arms so that he held her in a strong embrace, "You'll be free. I'll make damn sure if it."

Priscilla inhaled sharply and the tears in her eyes finally spilled out, silently streaming down her face and leaving small damp spots on Reiner's shirt. She clung to him tightly, so much so that her nails were digging into him through his clothes.

"Do you promise?" She asked, voice breaking.

"I'll show you a life without barricades. I will." He declared in an unwavering and certain tone, " _I swear it._ "

Priscilla let out a single loud sob as she buried her face in her lover's chest. Reiner moved one of his hands to the back of her head where he began to stroke her hair. It was a simple act but soothing to her all the same.

"I think I want to take a break from the books." Priscilla mumbled just audibly enough for Reiner to hear.

"Yeah, no problem," He said. His logical side had told him that they shouldn't waste time but his emotions won out, as they often did with her, "What do you want to do?"

"Rest. Let's just lay in the bed together and relax..."

The pair wasted no time clearing the books and unicorn plush toy off and flopping onto the fluffy bed. It was the perfect size for the two of them to fit comfortably. Both of them laid flat on their backs and stared up at the ceiling as what they'd recently learned tumbled around in both of their heads. Reiner felt like he needed to talk about some of these things, but he sensed that Priscilla didn't want to; that she'd rather just put it out of her mind for the time being. Surely it'd be discussed when they returned to camp in Shiganshina and relayed the information to Zeke, so he held his tongue.

One thing specifically refused to leave his mind though.

 _Brother..._ he thought.

Unpleasant connections started taking root in his brain. Marriages and procreation between close blood relatives was an accepted thing with these people – _encouraged_ even, as it was theorized it lead to "more powerful" offspring according to that book. The way Priscilla's father described her brother's behavior and what he would say... It didn't sit well with him. He needed to listen to his own words from before, the fact that all of the Hyperians were dead meant that Priscilla would not have to endure the twisted things mused about by her father. This was a bit of relief to him, but not enough for him to shake off the horrible idea that his beautiful angel was probably meant to be married off to her own brother and...

The thought was too sickening for him to complete it. No matter how ok it was for her people to do that, it would never be acceptable to him... and not to Priscilla either since she was so disconnected from this culture of hers.

Reiner turned his head to look at her only to see she was still in the same position with darkened, unblinking eyes fixed on the ceiling. He rarely witnessed her eyes so dull, they were always vibrant and full of life. The last time he saw her look so lifeless was when she was almost _literally_ lifeless as Zeke was examining her back in Shiganshina. Seeing her face like that framed in the current context made it far more sad to witness this time. Reiner wanted to do whatever it took to protect her, he always did, but it was becoming more and more difficult as the days went on for him to realistically do that. He moved his hand over to hers and held it firmly. Her face shifted to look towards him.

"What are you thinking about?" She softly asked when she noticed his touch. Despite her directly asking, Reiner remained silent, which was illuminating enough for her, "Ah... I think I have an idea."

"It's hard not to think about that." Reiner responded with a squeeze of her hand.

"I know, I know..." Priscilla spoke. Her tone was still very soft, as if speaking too loudly would disrupt the peace they were hoping to find, however brief it may be. Priscilla sighed heavily before continuing, "If there's something you really need to say... then go ahead."

"You were right," Reiner immediately answered, damn near cutting her off. Just moments ago he was the one keeping _her_ calm, but his own emotions were starting to run wild now after he spent a bit of time thinking about it all, "What we read... What your father wrote about you... It's terrible."

"Reiner..." Priscilla breathed, but her calming tone did nothing to help. Reiner couldn't hold back the frustrations he was feeling.

"I can't stand it..." He continued, his voice growing rougher. He unintentionally started squeezing her hand even harder, "I thought it was only the Eldian devils who mistreated you... But no... Your own people sought to use you as a means to an end. And just what was that end? He wrote that you being able to... _breed_... Was for the greater good. What does that even mean?"

"They all died anyway, so me being able to have children... What good would it do now anyway?" She filled in, "Some nonsense about 'racial purity' – why does that even matter?"

"I don't know," Reiner admitted in a defeated voice, "I wish I knew."

"But..." Priscilla continued, "At the same time _that_ means..."

She paused and averted her gaze from Reiner's. What would she be so shy about saying all of a sudden?

"That means...?" He echoed in an attempt to draw the answer out of her. Priscilla sighed and looked back to him with a pained look.

"You and I... we can't have children together."

Reiner was shocked by her saying this. Was she really thinking about having kids at this point? They hadn't even been having sex for _that_ long in the grand scheme of things, despite pining after each other for years, yet here she was suddenly mourning not being able to bear children with him. Before he had a chance to speak up, she went on.

"You and me... an Eldian and a uh... Hyperian," That last word felt so foreign on her tongue, "The book said we can't... So..."

"...So?"

Priscilla tensed up. The thought alone cut her deep. She turned her whole body to face him and moved closer.

"So that means there's nothing for you and I to leave behind," Priscilla stated flatly in an attempt to repress the intense emotions raging within her, "We won't have a legacy. If we can't have children together, we won't have anything remaining of us after we die."

He could see her eyes filling with tears again. He hadn't even begun to think of this or how it would impact them.

"How... How long have you thought about that?" He asked. Their gazes were locked intensely.

"I hadn't thought about it much at all until I read what was in that book..." She spoke honestly, "I never _seriously_ considered whether we'd end up having a family or not, but now that I know that we _can't_ I suddenly feel like..."

Priscilla couldn't go on – not immediately anyway. The reality of their future, or rather what wasn't apart of their future, was suffocating. The shock of now knowing she couldn't have a family with the man she loved _and_ the fact that she had realized that it was something she actually really wanted to do had left her exceedingly emotional. It wasn't until she learned that it was something out of her grasp that it was something she desired. Desperately. Having a sweet little family with Reiner fit perfectly with the 'happily ever after with her heroic prince' ideal she had been chasing for so many years.

"Isn't it just so sad?" She said after a long, contemplative pause.

Reiner had reached the same realization now. Prior to that day, the idea of being a father wasn't something that interested him – he had so many other things to worry about in his life, and the both of them were still young anyway so neither of them ever once felt the honest desire – but now they were both feeling wildly different on the subject. Little did Priscilla know though, Reiner was feeling far more conflicted than he let on.

There was something dire he wanted and needed to say to her, but Reiner couldn't bring himself to speak of it. He didn't even want to think about it, but his own mind being tormented was preferable to making her suffer any more right now.

What they both desperately needed was to forget.

Priscilla ran one of her hands across his brawny chest, fiddling with his shirt absentmindedly as she remembered just how comfy it was to wear the night prior. Reiner shifted onto his side too and grabbed her hand again. He closed his eyes and raised her hand to his lips where he placed a kiss on her fingers.

"If there's no legacy for us together," He began with his eyes still shut, "Then what matters is right now. We have to make the most of what we have of each other while we can."

"Make the most..." She echoed as she moved her face in closer and kissed his fingers too, "You know... We haven't gotten time alone like this in ages. _Really_ alone. No chance of anyone intruding."

"Not since that night by the lake," Reiner added. He chuckled lightly. That memory always brought feelings of warmth and fondness to him... along with lewd thoughts.

"So much happened that night..." Priscilla whispered and began to recount it all, "You told me your dark secret, I revealed my past shame... but most importantly that was our first time together."

She let out her own lighthearted giggle and heard Reiner do the same. By some miracle they were able to shift the mood from grim to sweet in their reminiscing. Reiner's eyes opened up again and they locked with Priscilla's.

"How 'bout that night when we were stuck in that blizzard?" Reiner added enthusiastically, "Holed up in a cave with a small fire going... and then you come out with that crazy idea of yours!"

"Crazy?!" Priscilla exclaimed playfully, "That was a legitimate survival tactic, Reiner!"

"Be honest Priss, were you hoping for something _more_ than just some skin to skin warmth for the sake of staying alive?" He pressed on smugly.

" _Do you really need to ask?_ " She countered with even more smugness. Their quiet laughter from before evolved into something more loud and joyous as they recalled that whole ordeal, "My mind definitely was fixated on the fact that I was cuddled up to the one I love... naked."

"Not a pure thought in my mind either that night, made it pretty hard to get to sleep." He admitted, but then became ponderous, "So... Why didn't you try anything?"

"Err... uhh for one, I didn't think you felt the same way about me as I did about you at that point..."

"You couldn't have been more wrong! I was always crazy about you." Reiner interjected as he continued to laugh, "You always say I'm the dense one, but you were pretty blind yourself sometimes."

" _Reeeeeineeerrrrr...!_ " She whined at his teasing, "Plus, what could we have done with the broken leg you had at the time?"

"I can think of a few things..." His laughter quelled and his voice deepened. He released her hand and started to run his fingers across her lips, "Your mouth, your hands... Could have gotten on top, you seem to like doing that anyway. You had options."

"On top..." She spoke. Suddenly she pushed him onto his back and climbed on top of him as she was so fond of doing, "Like this?"

"Yeah, just like that." He smiled.

Priscilla leaned in so her face hovered over his with little distance between them. She gave him a little kiss on that big nose of his that she adored, then nuzzled the tip of her own against it.

"I don't think I ever told you this..." She began in a hushed voice that was borderline sultry, "I had a fun dream that night. I dreamed that while laying next to you I touched myself and cried out your name so loud that it woke you up. I played it off like I had a nightmare and that's why I yelled, but you figured out what I had been doing and decided to finger me until I came again. I thought it was for real, but I woke up shortly after that and realized it was sadly just a dream... A _very_ vivid dream."

As she described her sexual dream from the cave, Priscilla felt Reiner's penis twitch beneath her, leading her lips to curl into a devious smile. Minutes ago neither of them imagined that the mood would shift so dramatically, but neither were displeased with that, a bit of hot and heavy action would be the perfect way to forget the awful things they both learned that day. To rely on each others bodies for comfort and be all consumed in one another would be nothing short of sublime.

"Would be a real shame if we didn't make the most of this alone time, wouldn't it?" Reiner said with a grin.

"You read my mind." Priscilla replied. Her mind and body filled with lust the more she felt his erection under her – it was growing _fast –_ but she of course felt the need to grind herself against it to stiffen him up as much as possible. The friction of rubbing herself against him and knowing he was already aroused greatly fueled her own excitement.

Reiner wrapped his arms around Priscilla and pulled her down towards him and kissed her passionately. She moaned into his mouth and gripped his shoulders as they furiously and sloppily made out... and just like that, all previous worries and woes melted away like they were as insignificant as a minor inconvenience in their daily lives – like losing a sock or a shirt popping a button. The horrible things they now knew were far away and all that mattered was each other.

Priscilla's hands jumped from Reiner's shoulders to furiously clawing at his shirt, as eager as she always was to get him out of his clothes she couldn't tear her mouth away from his. Their tongues danced in and out of each others mouths, Priscilla's was especially taking great pleasure in plunging her tongue deep and running it against Reiner's. Their breathing was already heavy from the intense kissing, and it was highly enjoyable for both of him, but feeling Reiner's hard cock under her had her _craving_ it. The nymph reluctantly broke the kiss and quickly moved to get his pants off, but Reiner stopped her.

"Hold on," He said, "Let me do something for _you_ first."

"Huh?" She asked breathlessly, too caught up in her arousal to get what he was implying.

"Take off your clothes and lay on your back." He instructed, still breathless.

Priscilla wasted no time in stripping off her garments and throwing them aside, she was so ready that she didn't even bother to ask what his intentions were. She flopped onto her back and Reiner crawled around to the side of her. He wanted to tease her body a bit first to get her started. He began to plant kisses on her stomach, dotting them softly in different spots – around her navel, over her ribs, along her hip bones. Priscilla watched him intently, filling with anticipation over where he was going. She was so focused on watching him that she didn't noticed one of his hands reach up to her breast and start to massage it.

Priscilla shook a bit when she felt his strong hand on her chest. Her nipples were already hard – it didn't take long for her to reach that point. Reiner shifted from her side to right on top of her, grabbing her other breast with his free hand. His eyes were mostly fixed on the mounds he was holding, but he would look up every so often to meet his lover's gaze with his glittering gold eyes. Priscilla's was completely red in the face and hot between her legs as he fondled her. Reiner then focused on her erect nipples, lightly flicking at them with his thumbs while he kept the rest of his hands busy with his firm, but too not firm, squeezes. The blonde looked up at her once more and moved in for a tender kiss before moving to the next step of his plan.

He was reluctant to switch his position since they were both certainly enjoying the fondling of her tits, but he was eager to get on with his idea as well. Reiner pulled away and started moving again. He started backing off – moving down her body until he came to a halt between her legs, which he spread apart for him to fit comfortably between. He lowered his head and started kissing her inner thighs, throwing in some light bites every so often. His face moved further and further towards her body as he kissed and now it had become clear exactly what he was going to do.

Priscilla held her breath as Reiner eyed up her pussy hungrily. He looked up into her eyes as if to say 'you ready for this?' His pale lover nodded, still with her breath locked tight in her chest. With that, Reiner gripped her thighs firmly and dove in. Priscilla finally let out that breath she had been holding onto when she felt his tongue make contact with her. This was something _completely_ new to her. Hell, it was something she didn't even know if she'd enjoy or not. It wasn't an act that crossed her mind at all, in fact, but she could immediately tell she was into this. Reiner started licked at her slit initially, trying to get his tongue as deep in there as possible, taking great pleasure in tasting her.

Reiner then focused his attention a bit higher up where her clit was, which elicited an intense shiver from her. He lapped his tongue against it slowly – he had quickly transitioned from teasing to full blown oral sex, but he really couldn't help himself. It was just as new to him as it was to Priscilla after all. Between his own spit getting all over her down there and her natural wetness building up, Priscilla was already _soaked._ Reiner pulled back ever so slightly and switched from the full tongue lick to quicker, more precise flicks with the tip of it. Priscilla let out a drawn out moan as he switched up his method and her head fell backwards onto the pillows behind her.

"We're all alone, be as loud as you want..." He quickly said, barely taking his mouth off of her to speak.

He heard her let out a meek "uh huh..." as confirmation that she heard him. Reiner then went back to work on eating her out. From his flicks he then switched to dragging his tongue from the bottom of her slit and slowly moving upwards, applying more pressure as he went up and flicking once he reached her clit. He repeated this, Priscilla twitching every time he completed the motion. For his first time pleasuring her with his mouth he was doing _damn_ good job.

Priscilla had grown quite comfortable with being able to freely moan without having to worry. They were long and drawn out, each one smoothly blending into the next with heavy exhales every so often. She lifted her head and looked down at Reiner, who seemed to sense that her gaze had fallen onto him because his eyes darted up to meet hers. She could only keep her eyes locked onto his for so long before she threw her head back again as she felt him push his face further against her and start straight up sucking on her clit.

"Ohhh _SHIT!_ " She shouted.

Her hands gripped the bed sheets tightly as her thighs continued to twitch with increasing intensity. Reiner grinned, taking another quick look back up at her even though her head was still laying back against the pillows.

"Something _wrong_? Should I _stop_?" He teased.

"Oh don't you dare stop now..." She growled playfully. She heard him snicker before going back to work on her.

Reiner sucked, a little more lightly than before, but now he started to hum up against it. As he kept eating her out her moans got heavier and louder – he had to be doing something right. Very right. Her thighs started to squeeze tightly around his head no matter how hard Priscilla tried to keep them spread. Reiner had a feeling she was getting close so he went back to hard sucking and vigorous licking, focusing entirely on her clit. Her fingers continued to dig into the old sheets she laid upon as Reiner lead her closer towards her climax.

"Reiner!" She shouted as that familiar pressure build up started to reach it's peak, "K-Keep going!"

Her whole body was in ecstasy and it was about to culminate in orgasm like she hadn't had before. His intense sucking on her clit elicited something new. While she had plenty of experience with having an orgasm at that point in her life, there was something different stirring in her this time, a feeling she couldn't really identify. Her entire body clenched up with her thighs damn near close to crushing Reiner's head between them, and then, the most intense release of her life. She let out a cry of pure pleasure... but vocalizations weren't the only thing she 'let out.'

Priscilla immediately noticed something was different that time. The release was more intense... something actually _was_ released from her. She sat up frantically and looked down, seeing Reiner pulling back with colorless fluid all over his face, and the sheets seemed to be soaked too. Priscilla's face flushed red.

"W-What...?" She meekly spoke, "That's not... _you know._.. is it?"

"Haha, no, no." Reiner assured her, wiping the spit and sexual fluids from his face, "Women can cum in their own way too like men, it's not at all the same and a rare thing for girls... I picked up on that when doing some research..."

"God..." She heaved a heavy sigh as she fell backwards again, exhaustion taking over her body after cumming so intensely, "And just where the hell did you learn to do that anyway? 'Research' can only get you so far..."

"Heh..." Reiner smirked as he sat up on his knees, "Must be a God given talent..."

"Consider me devoutly religious now. If that's a gift God gave you then I need to be praising him every single day," She joked between her still heavy breathing.

"Tch, you're ridiculous..." He chuckled.

Reiner then stood up and started to take his clothes off as well. Starting at the top with his shirt and moving all the way down to his shoes until he was as naked as Priscilla was, who was still laying weakly on the bed after her intense orgasm. He was already hard as a rock after making her cum with his mouth, which was hot enough on it's own, but her squirting on his face only built further on his arousal. He grabbed his cock and stroked it a bit as he returned to the bed and approached his love. Priscilla, even though her body had been sufficiently pleased already, was more than happy to feel him inside her again – in fact, as she laid there all wet and tired, she was in absolute need of his body against and within her.

Reiner crawled his way over to her and got between her legs once again. Reiner quickly spit into his hand and rubbed it against his erection to add some additional lubrication to what they already were working with. Priscilla spread her legs apart to give him room to proceed. On his knees between her soft legs, with his hand still on it he guided his cock to her opening that was still soaked from the oral sex. He tease her slit with his head, rubbing against it and slightly pushing it in _just_ barely.

" _Ohhh come on_..." Priscilla pleaded, "Don't keep me waiting, darling... Please. I need you."

 _I need you._

Those words hit Reiner hard. He could tell she meant it in more than just a sexual context, that she needed him in every way that a person could need another.

"Say... Say that again?" He asked quietly as he looked directly into her tired eyes, and with a loving smile she happily obliged.

"Reiner... _I need you._ "

Suddenly it was hard for him to keep his mind purely on fucking. This woman that he loved immeasurably and that loved him in return just as much had him questioning what he should be doing. Being with her made him want to do foolish things. In that moment he wanted to abandon his mission, betray his allegiance and escape somewhere far away with this lady of his... somewhere nobody could find them. It was 100% unrealistic and couldn't be done, but it was heaven to be with her and he wanted nothing more than to rule together with her in Heaven than to continue to serve in this Hell he was currently trapped in. When he was with Priscilla, this world was so much better than it _actually_ was in reality. Maybe she really was some sort of otherworldly enchantress who had him under her spell... and what a divine spell it was. If that were true, it was something he never wanted to break free from. Reiner was staring down at a goddess who for _some_ reason had chosen a lesser being to enrapture and he could never be convinced otherwise.

"Are you alright?" Priscilla asked softly after he had gone strangely silent and motionless.

"Yeah, I am..." He breathed, "I... I need you too."

The fact that he was about to enter her had completely slipped his mind when he got lost in thought about his dream to flee with Priscilla and just be together without a care in the world except for each other. He didn't want to keep her waiting too long after his teasing, not after he spent so long just staring down at her and thinking about what he wished was beyond this moment. Reiner gave his cock a few more strokes and gripped it firmly as he made his first real push inside of her. Priscilla's body tensed up as she felt him get just those first few inches in, anticipating that moment when she'd feel the full length within her.

Now that he had gotten it in enough, he moved both of his hands to rest on her hips. The resistance was as tough as ever, but all the wetness from the foreplay was easing it up a bit. Inch by inch, Reiner's cock was consumed by Priscilla's tight pussy, drawing a soft moan from the both of them once he was fully inside. The thrill of her intense orgasm just moments ago had her more sensitive down there than usual – there was a potent pleasurable ache already from it, and the added stimulation of the penetration had her walls contracting around Reiner's cock quicker than usual. Reiner could feel the pulsing squeezes and it drove him wild, and he was already incredibly aroused after eating her out.

With his hands firmly holding her by the hips, he started to thrust into her. Reiner didn't want things to end too quickly so he made sure to start nice and slow... Priscilla's gaze wandered down from his face to watching his cock disappear inside of her and then slide back out again over and over, also getting a look at his muscular body too. Watching him fuck her and see their bodies become one with each other added to the eroticism of the sex itself. The pale nymph let out a loud drawn out moan as she watched Reiner fuck her. After his last slow retreat, he made his next thrust sudden and quick, which caused Priscilla's head to fall back onto the pillow and her eyes to shut tightly. He then pulled back out just as slowly as he had been, paused a moment, and did the quick, deep thrust in once more.

With the slow pull outs combined with the abrupt pushes made Priscilla's entire body twitch upon his sudden thrusts in. Reiner could hear her let out little gasps every time he did it. He made sure when he pushed inside he got the entire length of his throbbing erection inside of her. Along with her tiny gasps he could just make out a few barely audible words here and there. Simple words like "yes" and "Reiner." He so loved it when she would call his name, equally in intimate moments like these and otherwise.

While it was always a pleasure to gaze upon her body that she so happily offered to him, he always longed to be in contact with it as much as possible. He released her hips and lunged forward so his body laid right on top of hers. His strong chest was pressed up against her full breasts and he could feel every breath she took. Priscilla lifted her head enough so now they could properly be face to face. She placed her hands on either side of his chiseled face and he wrapped his arms under hers – fucking her gently all the while. Even though both of their expressions were lusty, there was an element of pure wholesome affection in their gaze on each other underneath the dirty desires.

As if perfectly in tune with each others thoughts, Reiner leaned in for a kiss just as Priscilla went to pull him into one. Like their sex, the kiss was slow and passionate. Priscilla kept one hand on his face while the other traveled behind his head where she could run her fingers through his beautiful blonde hair. He started to quicken in pace and their kissing grew more intense to match, which Priscilla naturally responded to by grasping his hair even harder and pulling him in to kiss her as hard as possible. Their kissing swiftly grew sloppy and wet, but that didn't matter. The hand she had on his face then moved to grip his shoulder tightly, digging her nails into his skin because she just couldn't help it with how ecstatic she was already.

Their sloppy make out was of course full of muffled moans and grunts from both of them. Eventually they had to break the kiss to take a deep breath or two – they still remained connected by a trail of spit between them – but once they got the air they needed, they quickly locked lips once more and kept going at it frantically.

Their bodies were made for each other in a way. Reiner was a strongly built man – nothing less than a peak performance male. Priscilla on the other hand, was soft and feminine. She was strong enough to be a soldier, sure, but her ample assets and tiny waist would never lead anyone to assume she was part of the military or could fight at all. They complemented one another perfectly in that sense – pure masculinity and absolute femininity. He burned strong and bright like the sun while she glowed gently and benevolently like the moon. Just as he was convinced Priscilla was a Goddess, there was no doubt in her mind that Reiner was more than just a hero or a prince that she painted him as in her mind – but a God himself.

And it seemed only fitting for a God and Goddess to be united like this.

Reiner broke away from their kiss and buried his face into her shoulder as he began to fuck harder and faster. Priscilla let out a pleasured cry, holding onto him tightly as he roughly ravaged her. In his moments of over-excitement he tended to lose a bit of control with how hard and fast he went, she it's not like she minded him fucking her hard. In her ear she could hear his impassioned grunts which were almost drowned out by her own loud moaning – she was happy to be as vocal as she wanted to be as Reiner so aptly pointed out before that they were perfectly alone. She wrapped her legs around him and breathlessly urged him to keep going, harder, faster... and Reiner was more than happy to.

Him laying right on top of her meant that his groin area was rubbing right up against her clit that was still plenty sensitive. Priscilla's pussy contracted again around him and Reiner let out a moan that signaled that he very much felt it. Then came another. The combination of her clit receiving stimulation on top of the deep penetration had her building towards another climax. She let out a loud series of moans, crying out Reiner's name multiple times as she dug her nails into his back, dragging them down and leaving red tails on his skin. This, and him sensing that she was growing closer and closer, fueled him forward. He could feel that familiar warmth building up in him as he got closer as well.

"Ohhh _Reiner!_ " She screamed out in ecstasy, "I'm about to cum, are you close?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm close...!" He grunted.

Both of their bodies were reaching their breaking points. In the moment that Priscilla's pussy squeezed Reiner's cock multiple times, Reiner felt his cum pump from his dick and flood into her. Just like before, Priscilla's body released it's own form of sexual fluid. Both of them let out very satisfied moans and their bodies shuddered against each other. Reiner collapsed with his full weight onto Priscilla's body, but she didn't mind one bit. She smiled warmly and gave him a full body hug, with her arms and legs still wrapped around him. They were both out of breath, but Reiner was definitely more than she was – rightfully so, he was the one doing most of the work after all. Priscilla softly rubbed her hands across his broad and strong back, taking in every inch that she could reach beneath her fingertips.

"That was wonderful..." She murmured, still with that loving expression on her face, "It always is."

"Heh... I'd hope so," He laughed tiredly as he lifted himself to look at her, "I'd hate to leave you unsatisfied."

"Ohh, don't worry Reiner... to say you satisfy me is a _huge_ understatement," She replied with a grin. Her hands shifted to his shoulders which she began to rub, "You could never let me down. You complete me."


	13. Ch IX Part III: Heaven's A Lie

**A/N: Hello again. I am very HYPE because I finished drawing a lovely poster for this fanfic representing the first arc. Gonna look TIGHT hanging in a frame on my wall. Well, enjoy the chapter everyone.**

 **Chapter IX Part 3: Heaven's A Lie**

 _Don't you think about me enough?  
I've been burning my heart out  
I've got to face, need to tell you  
I won't run because I'm reticent_

Reiner finally moved off of her, feeling his now mostly soft member slide out of her warmth. He let out a weary sigh and swung his legs so that he sat on the edge of the bed. Priscilla sat up and crawled up behind him, placing her delicate hands on his shoulders and starting to rub them. From this angle she was able to knead her fingers in more firmly to massage him. Reiner definitely was enjoying it as his head fell backwards and his eyes closed while he let out a very content sigh.

"Feel good?" Priscilla asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Damn right it does." He confirmed.

Priscilla leaned forward a bit and pressed her breasts against his back. It made working with her hands on him a bit more difficult but she didn't care. Even though he busted a large nut inside of her just moments ago he could feel a faint twitch in his dick again already – her body, whether just looking or getting to feel it, drove him mad with desire. Back in their training days, even though she was fully clothed, she definitely proved to be a distraction... eyes wandering to her chest... whenever he found himself standing behind her, his eyes would zero in on that round ass of hers, especially when he caught her stretching and bending over. Hell, he'd always prefer to have her walk ahead of him for these reasons. Back then that was all he had when he needed to jerk off. His lewd dreams about her certainly made it easier to picture her naked and lead him to very satisfying masturbation sessions – but his wildest dreams couldn't compare to the real thing.

As she continued to massage him and press her tits against his back he could hear her let out soft hums and "ohs" that were dangerously close to erotic moans to his ears. In his mind he was convinced she was deriving some sort of sexual pleasure from what should be a very innocent act of giving him a massage, and just like that, he felt himself getting hard again. Reiner felt her lay her head against him so he took the opportunity to try to stealthily reach for his slowly growing erection and start tugging on it...

But Priscilla was no idiot, especially when she heard him let out a grunt that he was sure was discrete.

" _Whatcha doing over there?_ " She purred, adding more pressure with her slender fingers. Reiner froze and turned to glance over his shoulder, "You can't get anything past me... Not when I'm literally right behind you and can feel any move you make."

"Heh..." He chuckled, "Then you already know what I'm doing, don't you?"

"Horned up again already... Has it even been five minutes?!" She laughed heartily, "Hmm, well... here's an idea... What if we go another round? Gotta take advantage of this alone time... who knows when we'll get it again, right?"

"I can't say you're wrong..." Reiner grinned. He returned to rubbing his cock that was getting hard even quicker now that she made that proposition for more fucking.

While Priscilla worked her fingers into his tense shoulders she laid kisses on the back on his neck and between his shoulder blades. Reiner kept stroking his cock as she did so, but he soon felt her hands creep around to his front side where she started to grab at his buff pecs. She let out more of those sensual hums as her fingers ventured further down and traced his incredibly well defined abs. She couldn't get enough of touching him all over and laying her body up against his...

"Let me..." She whispered into his ear as one of her hands found it's way to his cock.

Reiner relinquished his grip and let his lady take it. She firmly grasped it near the base and started to move her hand up and down his thick and hard dick slowly. Reiner let out another pleasured grunt as Priscilla stroked him with her hand wrapped tightly around his large erection, applying more pressure towards the tip and easing up when she brought it back down to the base. Her other hand also traveled around to the front of his body where she rubbed it across his abs again. She smiled warmly and kissed his neck as she slowly jerked him, still letting out her soft and sensual hums.

"Did you ever thing we'd get to this point?" She whispered to him in a voice that was a mixture of sweet and sexual, "Actually getting to fuck and not just rely on our dreams and imaginations?"

"Honestly... No, I never thought it would happen," Reiner admitted, "I'm happy as hell that it did though."

"Despite everything we've learned today... I really couldn't be happier," She responded, still in that sultry low voice.

"I love you, Priss." Reiner responded lowly and lovingly. He heard her let out a tiny giddy giggle behind him. He couldn't see her, but he could absolutely tell she was blushing.

"I love you too."

With that, she increased the firm hold she had on his cock which caused Reiner to let out a deep moan. Priscilla dragged her nails lightly across his abs, moving further down until she was able to play around with his pubic hair. She snickered as she circled her fingers through the blonde hair playfully, still making sure to pay close attention to his cock. Reiner was truly at her mercy now, and he really didn't mind – considering he had taken control not too much earlier.

After she worked his cock for a while, she swiftly shifted and got herself down on her knees in front of him. Priscilla looked up at him with fire in her eyes as she grabbed his cock again with one hand, but then she dove down to his balls with her mouth. Reiner's head fell backwards as she began to softly suck on them to start with. She'd alternate between focusing on the left one and the right in as equal as possible intervals. Reiner moaned loudly as she dextrously stroked him while sloppily sucking his balls. Then, she was somehow able to take both his large balls into her mouth to some extent and give them a hard suckling – pulling her head back a bit and suddenly releasing them with a soft "popping" noise as they left her mouth.

Priscilla's jerking grew a bit faster and she returned to using her mouth on his balls. Instead of sucking them, she close to lick them – again switching back and forth between each one – firmly, but not too hard, lapping her tongue on and between his balls. Her free hand rested on his thigh, which helped keep her balanced as she orally pleasured her Godly lover. Lick, lick, suck, suck, pump, pump. She moaned loudly with his balls in her mouth, the slight vibration adding a bit of sensation to it all. The pale nymph then suddenly shifted her mouth's attention to his hard cock, plunging it deep into her throat – as deep as she could physically stand.

Priscilla used one hand to continue to fondle his balls while she bobbed her head up and down the shaft, stopping at the head sometimes to pay special attention to it by sucking and flicking her tongue on it. Then she ran her tongue along the ridge of the head, all around it, then inhaled before deep throating Reiner's huge cock yet again. Her moans, while muffled by having her mouth full of him, were loud. The girl pulled back slightly, still keeping part of his dick in her mouth, but just enough for her to breathe again. She took a deep breath and then shoved him as far down her throat as she could. Reiner let out a loud moan and Priscilla felt herself start to gag, so she quickly pulled away to cough and catch her breath – a trail of spit connecting the head of his penis to her mouth. She breathed heavily – having a fat cock shoved as far down as one's throat as possible tends to block one's ability to breathe at all.

Priscilla kept panting heavily, but soon enough caught her breath. Reiner took notice of it, thus took the opportunity to grab the back of her head and force his throbbing dick back into her mouth. In his over-excitement he got rougher than he intended to and felt a bit bad for a moment, but it didn't bring this to a halt. She continued to let out muffled moans as the man forced her head as far down as it could go. Priscilla wanted to get as much of him in down her throat as possible – he was too big to realistically get _all_ of it shoved in there, but she wanted to go as far as she fucking could. Her moans grew louder as Reiner kept applying pressure to the back of her head, along with her doing her best to force herself as far down as she could too.

" _That's... so good..._ " Reiner growled in that low and lusty voice as he kept his hands on the back of her head.

He watched the spit spilling out of her mouth from her severely gagging on his rock hard cock. Her eyes were shut tight as she strained to take in as much of him into her mouth and throat as she could. It was no easy task as his dick would block her ability to breathe when it was forced as far down as it would go. Priscilla would have to pull back against so she could retreat to inhale deeply before going back to slobbering all over his cock. Reiner let out a loud moan when he felt himself slip back down her throat once more. Priscilla sucked and bobbed, but the sucking was quite difficult with her entire mouth filled, but damn if she didn't try. Sucking and moaning on his dick, even letting out what sounded like growls every now and then.

Then, her gaze shifted upwards, and that same fire of arousal still blazed powerfully in her emerald eyes. Something about the way she looked was almost beast-like – as if she was an insatiable succubus who could never be satisfied until she drained every last drop of cum from him; like her life depended on fucking him. Reiner was thinking the same thing. He wanted to offer her every drop of cum his body could realistically produce; to fill her and cover her in as much of it as possible. He wanted to fill her up with his hot seed to an absurd degree. With that determination in his mind, he grabbed his lover and pulled her away from blowing him.

Priscilla gasped as he effortlessly lifted her, spun around and threw down onto the bed. She could barely keep up, which was unusual for her when they fucked – but seeing Reiner take charge all of a sudden made her fires burn hotter. He followed onto the bed and got behind her while she proceeded to lift herself up onto her hands and knees, able to follow his line of thinking of what position he wanted to pursue next. The Warrior held his cock in one hand as he positioned himself between her legs on his knees and started to feel around with his already slick head. It was throbbing and yearning to be inside her hot, wet cunt once more...

"Right there!" He heard his lover breathlessly exclaim, indicating that he had found the right spot.

The man began to push the head of his large cock into her tight slit. Once it was part of the way in, he moved his hands to hold onto her wide hips. As he pushed deeper in, he took in the view of her fantastic bare ass – and what a view it was. His excitement overwhelmed him for a moment and he suddenly made a full on balls deep hard thrust inside of her without thinking, which caused her to yelp and tense up.

 _Shit... Maybe too hard too fast..._ Reiner thought, slowly pulling a few inches out in hopes that would let her have a few moments to recover.

"Did I hurt you?" He quickly asked, his concern for her taking over completely.

"No, I'm fine! Don't stop..." Priscilla shouted desperately, then added between labored breaths, "I want it... hard... and fast..."

The was more than enough for Reiner to resume. He thrust back in full force, causing Priscilla to cry out again – finding such pleasure in him going balls deep inside her pussy. The length and girth completely filled her up and it was just sublime to say the least. But it would be untrue to say she exclusively lusted after him for his dick size... she would be banging Reiner at any chance she got even if he wasn't as well endowed as he was, the fact that he was equipped with a monster cock was a glorious bonus that went hand in hand with their love for each other. It's not like she was initially and only attracted to him for his physicality, they had only met when they were very young – before either of them were nearly as grown and physically developed as they were now. The first attraction was purely emotional. The most they could think of each other at that age they first met was that the other was cute in a very innocent way.

However, between then and their military days, they both _matured_ significantly. Reiner was always the most masculine and muscular of the cadets and if it weren't for Bertolt he would have been the tallest too. Priscilla outclassed the other girls in her physical development, to the point that it was a bit embarrassing at first, but she very much came to enjoy the fact that she was blessed with ample assets – for Reiner that was a bit of a blessing _and_ a curse. She was nice to look at, but damn if she wasn't distracting... But now, there was no issue with that, she was entirely a gift – a gift meant only for him, one that he wouldn't let anybody steal from him.

Reiner stuck to exactly what Priscilla had asked for: a hard and fast fucking. He was strong and fit, so he was in no risk of running out of stamina – his orgasm would surely come before he exhausted his energy, for his cock was weak for her tight pussy. With every thrust came a grunt from him, and every time he pushed all the way in Priscilla would let out loud cries of pleasure alternating with passionate moans. Those noises she made only were driving Reiner wild. She sure as hell wasn't afraid to be loud since there was no need to be discreet at all now.

"FffffffuuuuCCCCCCCCCCCCCK!" She screamed as Reiner kept on pounding away.

Both of them were panting heavily as Reiner continued to slam his cock into Priscilla – the sound of his hips slapping against that fine ass of hers was so satisfying.

Every time Reiner slammed in hard and deep, she took great pleasure in being filled up by his cock – she wanted him as deep inside her as he could get. Reiner was _easily_ on the same page as her with that. The pleasure that his more than impressive dick was causing her would have her reeling between loud moans and tiny high pitched whimpers – both noises that pushed Reiner dangerously close to cumming, but he resisted. He loved every noise she made – soft moans, loud ones, panting, how she'd cry out his name in ecstasy and everything in between. He especially loved how he was the one doing the things that got her making these noises... and they were exclusively for him.

All of her was completely for him, just like he was all for her _..._ what could be better than that? Even in the heat of passionate sex, Reiner couldn't help but still think about how much he loved Priscilla, his very own personal goddess.

"Ohhh _REINER!_ " She screamed out. Her eyes slammed shut and she gripped the sheets under her, "That feels so f-fucking good, you're going to make me cum again...!"

Reiner grunted louder as he fucked her relentlessly, his cock twitching inside her. Priscilla was finding it hard to keep herself propped up and eventually her arms gave out and her upper half fell, her face landing on the pillow beneath her. With her front half down, this propped up her hips a bit more. Priscilla's moans and unbridled screams of pleasure were muffled by the pillow that her face was pushed into. But then, Reiner thought he heard her actually try to _say_ something – and his suspicion was proven right when she turned her head to the side so she could speak clearly.

"God, yes, keep going... keep going until you cum... I need it..." She begged breathlessly, and then added, " _I want you to cum deep inside me, Reiner_!" She screamed.

Reiner moaned loudly and gripped her ass so hard that his nails left harsh marks in her delicate porcelain skin. At this point it was like their were in a competition to see who could be louder, but Priscilla's moans suddenly shifted into those high pitched whimpers. Her pussy started to contract tightly around Reiner's cock in that familiar rhythmic fashion. Without any indication other than a loud and drawn out moan, she came. As she orgasmed and even for a bit after, her walls kept squeezing him. Reiner loved it when she came and it always seemed to push him over the edge when he was inside her as she did. He was too lost in the moment to announce his climax as well beyond a guttural moan. Cum erupted from his cock as he buried it deep inside her, feeling several thick ropes of it flood into her. His balls pulsed as he pumped her full of his cum – so full of cum that it started leaking out from her before he even pulled out. This load easily had to be larger than the last one he blew.

The lovers were both panting heavily, out of breath from their intense orgasms as well as just the whole encounter. They didn't really take much of a break between their sexual romps, leaving no time for them to recover before starting up the second time. Reiner pulled out and some of the cum he had just filled Priscilla with spilled out onto the sheets. He heard her let out a very content sigh as she plopped down onto the bed and rolled onto her back to look at Reiner, who had sat back. Their eyes met and no words needed to be spoken – they were both happy, as happy as they could possibly be... for she was his and he was hers... and they both knew that nobody in this entire damn world could tear them apart.

Reiner moved on top of her once more where she embraced him as he came closer. The man placed his hands on her cheeks and went in for a deep and emotional kiss.

* * *

 _She just had to bring that demon to our hometown. Him merely being there is a defilement of the holy ground of our motherland, and then for her to do those... things... in our own home, the home that we shared for years, the home of our ancestors... Adrestia, you don't know how much you torture me with what you do. Sometimes I think I hate you for what you've become and the crimes against our people you continue to willfully commit... But no, no... how could I ever honestly hate my dear sister? You just need my guidance. I'll set you back on the righteous path and we will walk it together. You'll see... I will make you see soon enough._

* * *

"Oof..." Reiner grunted.

"Hmm?" Priscilla asked, noticing he had started to massage his side a bit, "What's up?"

"I uh, I pulled a muscle or two after that last one... Balls are sore too.."

Priscilla tried her damnedest to stifle herself, but it was an impossible task given how silly the idea was, and she let out what was possibly the loudest fit of laughter she ever had in her life. Reiner looked back at her with a grin rather than embarrassment.

"O-Oh God, I'm sorry..." Priscilla managed to say through her unbridled giggles, "I shouldn't be laughing at that, I really shouldn...pftft..."

Despite what she did her best to say, she couldn't stay true to those words. It was just too damn funny that he came so hard and so much that he was feeling it all over. She heard him let out a scoff.

"It's fine Priss, it _is_ pretty funny." He agreed, starting to laugh a bit himself. He then stretched his arms above his head, "I just wonder how long I'll be feeling that..."

"What? Your Shifter regenerating won't take care of that?" She suggested, her laughter finally subsiding.

"Guess we'll see about that." He chuckled, "Can't say I ever faced this issue before."

Reiner rose from the bed and grabbed his clothes so he could dress himself. He got into his underwear and pants first, soon finding his belt and putting that on as well. He glanced around to look for his shirt, but it was nowhere to be seen. From behind him came a devilish snicker, which prompted a smile out of him. Reiner turned and saw Priscilla sitting up and happily slipping into his shirt just like she did the other night. He must have left that on the bed so she was able to stealth grab it before he could notice. He smiled warmly at her and she returned a fully lovestruck stare.

"You really have a thing for wearing my clothes, don't ya?" He said.

"Well if it means I get to look at you shirtless..." She began, "I think you can understand the appeal it has to me... _and_ it's super comfy, but that's just a bonus."

"So what can I do to see you shirtless then?" Reiner asked with a smirk.

"Tch, Reiner... _You just have to ask_." She replied in a tone that was both playful but absolutely serious at the same time, "Hmm if you _really_ want your shirt back I could just strip it off and give it to you." She added, ready to pull it off and expose her nude body yet again.

"Heh... You can hold onto it, I don't need any more temptation from you right now..." Reiner declined. He was a bit reluctant, but if he were to look at Priscilla in all her bare glory he'd surely want to go at it again. He was tired, and she honestly was too, so he thought it best not to give in to his divine temptress. Both of their bodies, as resilient as they were – especially Reiner being a shifter – could still do with some rest.

Priscilla sat up straight and crossed her legs. Reiner's shirt was so big on her that it prevented any indecent exposure below the waist, but was that really a big deal when it was just the two of them? He really did like seeing her wear his clothes, it was downright adorable the way she was swallowed by the fabric.

"I know I said it's pretty sad before..." She began, "But I guess there's a silver lining to us not being able to have kids together. We can have as much sex as we want and not worry about an accident happening. It still sucks but we might as well look on the bright side... right?"

It was a bit of an odd time to get into that subject, but she admittedly didn't think much of it. Priscilla didn't know what a lapse in judgment it would turn out to be on her part... but how could she predict that?

"...Yeah..." Reiner spoke. Just that one word response was tinged with an oddly morose tone and Priscilla wasn't blind to it. He turned his back to her and wandered over to the window, wanting to look anywhere else but at her for a change.

"Did I say something wrong...?" Priscilla asked, noting Reiner's shift in demeanor.

"I..." He started but already ended up choking on his words. That thing that haunted him. That thing he should have told her ages ago. That thing that was far worse than telling her he's the Armored Titan... he had held it back for far too long. All things considered this was a terrible time to drop this bomb, but there was no good time to say it, so he just needed to get it over with, "It's actually much better that we can't."

"...And just why is that?" Priscilla asked.

Reiner gritted his teeth and grabbed his head with both hands. Priscilla's expression went from curious to concerned as she watched Reiner's stress take over him. Quiet grunts escaped him as he faced the reality of the situation that could no longer be ignored.

"A shifter gains it's power by being turned into a pure titan and then eating the previous holder of one of the nine shifters," He began, still unable to look at her, "When the power is passed down... starting from that moment, the shifter will only live for 13 more years."

A tense silence fell. Reiner dropped his hands and balled them into fists. He was frustrated and angry with himself for keeping this from her for so long – but equally as upset that he was caught in the situation to begin with. Before her, Reiner had no issue with a short life, he had a mission and he would do whatever it took to see it through. Now things were much different. He was in love and he had someone who loved him – someone who will be far more affected by his fate than he himself was. By giving his own life in the name of a Warrior's duty, he would be destroying the life and shattering the heart of the one he loved the most.

"I only have six years left before I need to pass it on. If I had a kid, they'd end up growing up without a father." Reiner spoke, making the gravity of the situation crystal clear. After laying it all out there he heard a flop behind him, when he turned he saw Priscilla had collapsed back down on the bed on her side with her back to him. Both of them were devastated in that moment, "Priss, I... I'm so sorry. I should have told you sooner."

She didn't respond in any way. No words, no other sorts of sounds, not an inch of movement – her body went totally rigid – she was paralyzed with an intense and sudden grief that left her catatonic. She was unable to cry, in fact her eyes remained wide and unblinking. Reiner not only felt like he didn't know what to do, but rather that he definitely _shouldn't_ do anything right now. He didn't even think it'd be right to so much as sit on the edge of the bed that Priscilla laid in so he just turned back to the window to stare aimlessly out of until she was ready.

Time crawled along silently and Reiner had difficulty telling just how much time had gone by at this point. Surely Zeke expected them to be thorough and spend as much time as they needed there, but no way was he anticipating the two of them pausing their investigation to have sex and then spend time coping with what Reiner just revealed to her. He continued to stand and stare out the window while leaning against the wall, eventually the silence broke and he heard a shuddering gasp from behind him. He whipped around but saw that she was still laying in the same position that she had been, but she finally began to speak in a tiny, meek voice that was uncharacteristic of her.

"I can't believe it, we've been away for so long. It's been hours. Your commander must be wondering what's taking us so long... What do we tell him? I guess we could just lie and say it took longer than we expected to find this place, it's not like he'd ever know, right? We could get away with a tiny little lie like that, couldn't we? There's no reason to tell him what we've been up to... Same for Bertolt... We should... probably head back soon. I'm hungry. Are you hungry? Not much to eat but field rations and that strange drink you have, some water too... and you three weren't prepared to have another mouth to feed, so it's pretty inconvenient to have to suddenly split your supplies even more... I'm always causing trouble, aren't I? ...What can I do? Please tell me. There must be something I can do to help, so just tell me..."

She paused her lengthy dialogue for a moment, her speech that seemed to have nothing to do with what Reiner had said – it just sounded like unrelated babble, "Could we stay here a little while longer? I like the privacy, it's something we so rarely ever got to enjoy. I know it can't last though, but I want to stay here with you as long as possible before it all comes to an end. Don't you agree? We have to cherish this moment while we still have it... I thought maybe... we were finally..."

The pain Reiner was feeling in his heart was painted all over his face as he stared at her lifeless body on the bed. Then in just an instant, Priscilla let out a loud, agonized shriek and scrambled across the bed and floor over to Reiner, where she clung desperately to his leg. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Why?!" She screamed as she looked up at him, "Why must we suffer?! What did we do to deserve this?! Tell me, Reiner... Tell me!"

Her voice was ragged and raw and she panted heavily with gritted teeth through her tears. She was despairing at their cruel fate and furious all at once – not at him, but at whatever higher power it was that brought this unique and malevolent curse down onto them. Reiner was destined to die an early death and Priscilla was cursed to never be able to bear a child with the one she loved. To never grow old with him and live a long and happy life somewhere far away. Her head nodded down and laid against his leg.

"Please... Say something... _Anything..._ " She begged in a breaking voice, holding onto him tightly.

"...I should have told you back then, on the night where I revealed myself as the Armored Titan. Maybe that would have been enough for you to run away from me like you should have," He began with a heavy heart, "but I was a selfish asshole. It was better than anything to have you all for myself and I was too much of a piece of shit to tell you the full truth because I wanted to hold on to what we had, knowing full well what was going to happen to me. It wasn't fair to you at all. You're not the one always causing problems... I'm the one causing the problems for you."

He looked down at the broken and defeated Priscilla who was still attached to his leg. For the first time in his life he felt true regret over becoming a Warrior, but if he had never chosen that path, they never would have met either. What he wouldn't give to abandon his mission and run away with her somewhere where they could be at peace and find true freedom. In that moment his duty as a Warrior of Marley was the least important thing in the world to him. All he wanted to do was to make things right in any way that he could for her. Reiner wracked his brain relentlessly in the silent moments that passed by... and soon enough an idea struck him.

Reiner pulled his leg away from her so he could kneel down and be on Priscilla's level where he placed his hand on her chin and lifted her face so they could see eye to eye. Her eyes were still red from crying and her face was entirely flushed, but she was still the loveliest thing in the world to him.

"I know in the end it won't mean much but... It may be better than nothing," He spoke, not breaking eye contact at all. Priscilla's brows furrowed, puzzled at where he was going, but he was about to make it clear, "When we get back to Marley... let's make it official."

"...Make... _What_ official?" Priscilla sniffled.

" _Us,_ " Reiner clarified, "Let's get married, Priss."

"W-What?! Are you serious?" Priscilla exclaimed.

"Completely," He confirmed, then took her hands in his, "I know I don't have a ring right now or anything but just answer me this... Priscilla Ziegler, would you make me the happiest man alive with what little time I have left... and do me the honor of being my wife?"

Now Priscilla's eyes were welling up for an entirely different reason – tears were flowing from them out of sheer happiness and her face was as flushed red as a freshly bloomed rose. The girl lunged forward and embraced him with so much force that she knocked Reiner to the ground. Through her weeping she managed to give him an answer:

"Yes! Yes of course I'll marry you!" She exclaimed joyously, "I'll forever be yours, just as always I have been, just as I've always wanted. And when you're gone, I will never love again – _I swear it._ "

Priscilla's words were as genuine as they were saccharine, she had not known love until Reiner, and she was certain that even when he was gone from this world that nobody could ever take his place in her heart – or in _any_ way at all. He was the beginning and he would be the end. Reiner pulled the woman who was now _technically_ his fiance in for a passionate kiss. There may not have been a ring involved but the vow of fidelity had been spoken, the trinket to go along with it wasn't important – Reiner intended to get one though, but it wasn't a concern for the present.

That day marked a turning point for the both of them. New knowledge had been laid out to them both, knowledge that was confusing at best to grimly disturbing at worst, but they came out of it together with the resolve to keep moving forward – to live a life beyond merely surviving. Reiner meant it when he said that he would show Priscilla a life without barricades, but he wouldn't just show her – they would experience such a life and they would do it together... but for now, they still had a task to complete. They had lingered in the ruined city for longer than they should have – Zeke was waiting for them back at the camp, and given how long they had taken he was surely expecting a great wealth of information from them upon their return.

After dressing themselves and making sure they had everything – from the books to the sentimental objects of the unicorn toy and the family photo – the two lovers departed hand in hand. It was time to say good bye to this place for the second time for Priscilla, but this time she had no reason to be sad about leaving it behind. There was no future or hope to be found among the overgrown buildings and other structures. The future was waiting for them across the ocean... and there was no time to waste lingering on the past now. They had no choice but to keep moving forward.


	14. Chapter X: Cruel World

**A/N:I know I am quite late this month. Let's just say I've been very busy with drawing Reiner and Priss doing things together, fun things, very fun things... ahem. Hopefully this is alright for you all. Praying I didn't somehow create mistakes with various edits over time. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter X: Cruel World**

 _'Cause I was filled with poison  
But blessed with beauty and rage _

It had grown very late. Zeke had expected Reiner and the girl to have returned by now. The man was silently getting impatient as he stood overlooking the city with a steaming hot cup of coffee in hand, hoping to see the Armored Titan appear through the hole in the opposite wall. Bertolt sat tending to the fire behind him.

"Could they be in trouble?" A nervous Bertolt asked, not taking his eyes off the flames.

"I find it hard to believe Reiner wouldn't be able to take care of any trouble they could run into," Zeke spoke with his eyes still searching for his comrade on the horizon, "Then again, who knows what awaited them..."

"What could be keeping them, then?"

"I suppose we'll find out whenever they return," Zeke responded, then took a sip of his hot beverage. He winced, the drink was just a tad too hot to start sipping on.

"Uh..." Bertolt began awkwardly, "Are you really going to let Reiner bring her to Marley with us?"

"Hm. If my suspicions are correct, then there is no choice but for Miss Ziegler to come with us." Zeke replied without looking to Bertolt, just keeping his eyes forward still.

"What do you mean?"

Zeke didn't respond – he merely hummed to himself. A few moments later, the Warchief's keen ears picked up the thunderous footfalls that could only belong to one thing. Through the hole in the opposite wall, he saw the Armored Titan appear. Once it had entered the city, the Titan slowed it's pace. Zeke smirked, pleased that they had returned, albeit later than he had liked.

Once they reached the Wall where the camp was, the Titan knelt down and lifted his open hand up so Priscilla could dismount the top of his head. He then lowered her to the ground before putting enough distance between them to safely emerge. Reiner didn't push himself as hard on the return as he did earlier so he wasn't as exhausted, meaning he didn't have to rest after the exertion of being in Titan form. Since he was the only one equipped with the ODM, he motioned for Priscilla to get behind him and hold on tightly. Before he launched them into the air to scale the wall, she gave him a sneaky little neck kiss.

"Welcome back," Zeke said as the two of them rejoined camp, "You certainly took your time, didn't you?"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Reiner apologized.

"We were able to gather stuff that I think will be helpful though," Priscilla spoke as she removed the bag from her back and set it down on the ground between herself and Zeke, "It's all written in my people's language so I'll need to read it for you."

"So, these people had their own language?" Zeke asked, "Fascinating. If you're fluent in the language they speak on Paradis then I'd say it's safe to assume your entire society was bilingual."

"Uh, sure. Makes sense, I guess..." Priscilla agreed without giving his words much, if any, thought.

Zeke knelt down and placed his mug to the side so he could delve into the bag. He pulled out the first thing he grabbed, the ragged old journal of her father, which he flipped open to a random page so he could get an idea of just how different the language could be.

"Huh, even the runes are completely foreign..." Zeke marveled, then looked up to Priscilla, "What might this one be?"

"That's my father's personal journal," She explained, feeling a pang of disgust in her stomach.

"You don't look very thrilled about that," Zeke responded lightheartedly, even smirking a bit. It seemed her disdain for it's contents were obvious enough to be painted on her face.

"You'll see why that journal doesn't _thrill_ me," She spoke bitterly.

"Well, why don't we go through it first then? I know you must be exhausted, but time is always working against us Miss Ziegler."

"If I had it my way I'd just have you read it yourself, but since you have no idea how the hell to to that... then fine, let's do it," She said.

"I appreciate it," Zeke replied. He sounded grateful, but Priscilla was still wary of this man and how genuine he was. He then looked to Reiner and Bertolt, "I'd appreciate if Miss Ziegler and I had some privacy."

Strange looks crossed the faces of Reiner and Bertolt, but they were in no position to oppose their leader. Priscilla looked over to Reiner and, slightly reluctant as he was, he nodded at her to stay with Zeke while he and Bertolt gave them space. Zeke turned to Priscilla and gave her a warm smile as Reiner and Bertolt set off to keep watch a distance away from them. But to her, the smile seemed insincere, as if it were something to merely placate her. Her doubts about him ranged from the words he spoke right down to the most minute expression he made.

"Well then, shall we begin?" He asked.

The fire beside them was enough to illuminate the texts despite night having fallen – the light of the pale moon on the clear night aided too. Priscilla opened the journal and set it in her lap, but a thought was in her mind that she had wanted to ask since earlier in the day.

"Why didn't you give me an ODM when we left too? Why just Reiner?" She asked Zeke.

"Reiner was able to carry you up, wasn't he?" Zeke laughed, "But in all seriousness, we needed to have Bertolt equipped just in case... plus..."

"Plus?" She pressed.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you were not very skilled with that gear, were you?" Zeke posited. Priscilla's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped ever so slightly, "Ah... your face betrays you yet again."

"How could you... know that?" She asked, incredulous.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, it's just an observation – but your body type," Zeke began, and Priscilla's eyes went even wider, "From what I know about how the gear works and the physics of it, the way your weight is distributed would make it more difficult for you."

"I..." She choked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Your weight being mainly concentrated in your breast and hip regions would throw things off, not to mention the slim waist in relation to those doesn't help either... Please forgive me if I'm crossing any lines with these comments," Zeke continued, "But am I wrong?"

"Using the ODM gear was very difficult for me, yes... It took a lot of effort for me to stay balanced, but I thought that was the case for us all..." She admitted sheepishly, "I didn't realize that was the problem..."

"It's the most logical conclusion we can make..." He added, "And while you may be a soldier, I wouldn't have wanted anything bad to happen to you with an ODM mishap when scaling the wall. I was certain Reiner would see you safely up here."

"Right, right..." She mumbled. She looked over her shoulder and saw Reiner and Bertolt standing quite a bit away now. While it obviously didn't matter if Reiner heard what they spoke of with their discoveries, she was relieved to keep it from Bertolt... for now at least, there was no way for her to know whether Zeke would openly share what they were going to discuss.

* * *

"Reiner?" Bertolt piped up.

The blonde Warrior had been stealing glances back to where Zeke and Priscilla were sitting despite being quite a distance away by now. With his name called, he looked back to his friend with a curious look.

"Something the matter?" He asked.

"I'm a bit bothered by this whole situation..." Bertolt began, "Zeke mentioned she could be important to our cause but didn't elaborate on that... Why is he being so secretive?"

"...I'm sure he has his reasons," Reiner said, although he didn't like how dodgy Zeke was all of a sudden either, "He's our Warchief. We have to follow his orders."

"You must know something already," Bertolt continued, suddenly growing accusatory, "She'd be willing to share with you, especially when it was just the two of you alone."

"We didn't get into anything that talked about eradicating the devils of this island," Reiner answered honestly, "What we found out isn't anything that would matter to you or the future we fight for. It was just things about her family."

Reiner's honesty shifted to be more of a half truth at the end, but the fact that he and Priscilla read about some science jargon too didn't need to be brought up since that would just lead to Bertolt asking more questions.

"Do you think Zeke will share what she tells him...?"

"We'll have to wait and see," Reiner replied flatly, he was getting tired of Bertolt's line of questioning and increasing paranoia.

"How can we even trust her? Who is she? What kind of person lives outside of the Walls on this island?" Bertolt went on and on, "The more I get to know about Ziegler the more she begins to frighten me..."

"Bertolt!" Reiner exclaimed in irritation, shocking his friend a bit, but he calmed his tone before speaking again, "If Zeke says she can help us, then we have no choice but to trust him."

"You're biased, Reiner..." A hurt Bertolt retorted, "You love her so of course you'll agree with Zeke on that."

"You're not wrong," Reiner agreed, "But I value her more than Zeke does, no matter what he has planned."

"What if he intends to... do something to hurt her?" Bertolt asked meekly, drawing a scowl from Reiner, "If his plan involves taking her away from you somehow, what will you do then, Reiner? Where does your loyalty lie?"

In his mind Reiner knew the answer to that question easily, but he didn't want to answer it. He didn't want to speak his truth to Bertolt. A divide had formed between them, and it's name was Priscilla Ziegler – but Reiner would not lie to himself, and that was good enough for him. What Bertolt didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

* * *

"So why don't you give me a brief summary of what's in that journal first?" Zeke suggested.

"The entries I read mostly focused on me... the day of my birth, how I was growing up... Father mentioned that my name is Adrestia and that Priscilla Ziegler is a fake name they gave me when the left me in this city," She began.

"Is that so?" Zeke asked, then added with a smirk, "So should we be calling you Adrestia now, then?"

"No!" She immediately shouted with nostrils flared in anger, shocking Zeke a bit, "I... Uh, sorry about that..."

"It's fine, go on..."

"Well father mentioned that my people... the Hyperians... they faced a fertility crisis and that's why they went to Marley. They specifically mentioned seeking help from the Marleyans, no other nations were spoken of. I was the first birth in ten years, with the last one prior to me being my older brother."

"Older brother?" Zeke asked as his eyes shimmered with interest. Priscilla then dug into her bag and pulled out the photo of her family.

"Here, this us all of us. Mother, father, my brother and I," She stated, "Our names are all written on the back... I'm pretty sure his name was Anteros."

"Anteros..." Zeke continued in his low voice as he adjusted his glasses and looked closely at the image, "This is a photograph... not the kind of tech the people of this island have any access to."

"Reiner said that too..." Priscilla confirmed, "I noticed other weird stuff too. The light sources in my house... the lamps... I don't know what they were, there were round glass things inserted in them."

"Electricity too?" Zeke marveled, "This hometown of yours is far more advanced than the Eldian civilization of Paradis, your society was easily on par with Marley from what you're telling me right now."

"Uh huh, right... Anyway, my father wrote more than a few entries about how there were no more births after me, that the 'crisis' reached it's peak and that's why they had to find an answer elsewhere. And father... he..." Priscilla paused because recalling this detail made her sick, "From the first entry after I was born he alluded to this, but then in future ones he made it very clear that he was fixated on me being fertile and it being crucial that I could... _breed._ "

"Ahh... so that's why you had such a sour attitude over talking about this," Zeke commented. Priscilla sat seething internally, so Zeke continued, "Why was that so important to him?"

"All I read was that it was for an alleged 'greater good,'" She spat out those last two words with venom, "I'm sure there's details about that somewhere, but I didn't get to them."

"Fascinating..." Zeke murmured.

"Not exactly the word I'd use but whatever..." Priscilla remarked bitterly, but her mind couldn't help but linger on the subject of procreation, "There is something else about that... I read it in another book, one about anatomy. Apparently it's not possible for an Eldian and I to... Have children."

"Huh..." Zeke breathed, sitting back and crossing his arms pensively, "Why is that?"

"I didn't find out yet. I saw a mention of some sort of 'curse' having to do with it... a curse related to the Goddess they worshiped in my city."

"A curse? Perhaps it's some sort of creation myth?" Zeke suggested.

"Calling it a 'myth' makes it sound like it's just a children's tale..." Priscilla huffed, "You said the Eldians carry the curse of Ymir, so it shouldn't be unbelievable that some other race has been cursed in their own way too."

"I won't rule out either possibility just yet... Whether it's truly divine creationism – the work of a higher being – or something with a basis in science is something we'll find out together."

"What about Reiner?" She immediately countered, "I want him to know everything too."

Priscilla's eyes wandered over to Reiner and Bertolt, who had traveled even further away since she last looked over. Zeke's pleasant demeanor sank a bit, irritated by the girl's one track mind impeding their discussion. He cleared his throat to regain her attention, causing her gaze to shift right back to him.

"What you need to understand is I am the Warchief, I'm their leader. What you're telling me right now is what I consider privileged information... I'll be the one to decide what those two get to know." He sternly explained.

"I really don't care who you are," Priscilla responded flatly as she narrowed her eyes at Zeke, "Because to me you aren't anything, but Reiner is my everything... so in my opinion, he has a right to know all there is about me."

"Well, aren't you a defiant one?" Zeke spoke and leaned forward in an attempt to intimidate the pale girl, " _You_ don't get to decide that though. I'm the one in charge."

" _Not of me._ " She sneered back.

"Maybe rethink that statement, Miss Ziegler. Consider the fact that I could shift into my Titan at any moment and crush your body between my teeth."

"Tch..." She scoffed, leaning in closer to him as well, getting quite smug because she knew she had the upper hand, "You told me I have power... Power to help accomplish your goals. You wouldn't _dare_ eat me and lose whatever it is I can do for you..."

The pair stared at each other intensely, like the one to blink first would be the "loser" of whatever strange battle was going on here. Priscilla's lips curled into a smug smile and her eyes were so narrow that they were damn near shut – her air of superiority irked Zeke. His nostrils flared and he let out a sharp exhale, sitting back up straight.

"What if by eating you I gained what I need?" The man countered.

"What if I withheld information?!" She shouted, eyes going wide. She snapped her father's journal shut and held it up in one hand, "Or deceived you and lied about what's in these books? You'd never know, you can't read them! I'm the only one in this whole damn world who can."

" _Are you this difficult with everyone?_ " Zeke growled.

"Not with Reiner." She replied with a smirk.

Zeke sighed deeply and hung his head in frustration.

"I just want to get back to the matter at hand." He spoke as he rubbed his temples.

"Same here... but just remember: I'm the one in control of what you get to know, so you better choose your words wisely with me."

"...Fine, just get back to it," Zeke conceded reluctantly. He thought it wise to add one more critical word though, despite what a pain in the ass she was, "Please."

"Well... This whole breeding thing gets worse," She began, "In the anatomy book it talked about inbreeding between siblings and cousins being pretty much a normal thing... and suggested that they end up producing stronger offspring than people who don't have any blood relation."

"Now _that's_ interesting..."

"I think the word you're looking for is disgusting, actually." Priscilla corrected him, but Zeke went on with his thinking out loud without missing a beat.

"And you had a brother..."

"I'm going to stop you right there because I know exactly what's going through your head, and I'd rather not hear you say it." Priscilla said sternly.

"All I'll say is something like that goes against all known laws of biology – incest is something avoided at all costs, _especially_ in humans." Zeke said as he looked up again, his eyes meeting her green ones with a curious look, "So what exactly are _you_ then?"

"W-What...?" Priscilla gasped, "I'm... I'm human. What the hell else would I be?"

"That's certainly the question on everyone's mind..." Zeke chuckled, "Could something more be lying dormant under that pretty, unsuspecting facade? A higher being barricaded behind a human shell?"

"You sound ridiculous, Zeke..." Priscilla sneered.

"How can you be so certain that I'm not onto something?" He mused, raising his hand up and slowly reaching towards her, "You yourself don't even know everything about your people yet. All we have are small bits of information that we're struggling to piece together."

"Eh...?" She breathed as Zeke's fingers came dangerously close to her face.

"If devils still roam this earth, how can we say with certainty that a divine race didn't recently exist too?" He continued, his fingertips making contact with her cheek, "And that one goddess still remains?"

Priscilla grunted angrily and slapped Zeke's hand away from her. She didn't want anyone to touch her but Reiner, especially no other _man_. It didn't matter the context of the contact – she would accept the touch of no other.

"Reiner said it himself... there are no such things as goddesses." She growled back at Zeke.

"Reiner doesn't know everything."

"And you do?!" She exclaimed, eyes going wild.

"Not _everything_ ," Zeke murmured, "But I know more than most about the nature of this world. More than Reiner and _much_ more than you. _"_

Priscilla grimaced at him. She raised her arm up to her face and rubbed the spot on her cheek with her sleeve where he touched her, as if trying to cleanse herself. Zeke thought she looked like a cat grooming itself. She went on rubbing at her cheek for an odd length of time, and when she finally stopped it left a light red blotch on her face. Her hand limply dropped into her lap – she was exhausted from everything that transpired that day.

"Zeke, I want to go to sleep..." Priscilla whined.

"I suppose you do need your rest. You'll have to forgive me being so thirsty for knowledge. I'm sorry I had to take time out of your night, but I didn't have any other option given the foreign writing..." Zeke said.

"It's fine." Priscilla said as she rose to her feet. She was eager to cuddle up next to Reiner, who was in their tent and surely already asleep.

"Before you go anywhere..." Zeke spoke up just as Priscilla was about to turn away, "May I ask you a few personal questions?"

"Eh...? Sure, go for it I guess." She replied, too tired to give his words a great deal of consideration. What's the worst he could ask?

"When did you and Reiner start having sex?"

Priscilla gasped – he wasn't kidding when he said it was a personal question. She didn't know what to expect from him, but she damn sure didn't think he'd casually ask about her sex life.

"Why the hell do you want to know that?!" She exclaimed, red in the face from embarrassment – an emotion she wasn't one to fall victim to all that often.

"You have to trust me when I say it's relevant..." Zeke assured her, "Try to keep your voice down."

"It had to be over a month ago now..." She said, not entirely sure, "Time got a little muddled for me when I was imprisoned"

"If it helps you gauge the time better, Reiner and Bertolt joined up with me here about two months ago."

 _I was locked up for a while huh.._ Priscilla thought.

"Just over two months then actually. It was the night before he was assigned to a different post than I was."

"Alright... Now can you tell me when you last bled?"

First her sex life and now _that_ , she was sure his bold questioning was payback for making his life difficult earlier. As strange of a question as it was, she felt compelled to answer since she'd gone this far already – and he did assure her it was relevant, so she went for it.

"It's hard to remember but I want to say a couple weeks before Reiner and I started..." Priscilla spoke. Zeke stroked his bearded chin while she stared down at him, waiting for an explanation.

"...Maybe you should sit back down for this," Zeke suggested. Priscilla huffed but decided to abide by him, sitting down across from the man again. He breathed in deep before he began again, "You can't breed with an Eldian that's been established... but Reiner..."

"What about Reiner? You said only Eldians can turn into Titans so-"

"He's only half," Zeke cut her off, "His mother is Eldian but his father was a Marleyan."

"...Only half Eldian?" She repeated slowly.

"That's right. We have no way of knowing since your people must have never ran into this kind of situation, but perhaps him not being a full blooded Eldian makes him an _exception,_ " Zeke explained, "Ever since it was clear that you two have an intimate relationship, I definitely considered the fact that you could be pregnant."

"Pregnant..." She was at a loss for words and all she could do was repeat what Zeke spoke, as if doing that would help her process it.

"Two months is still very early on, and that's if you were able to conceive the first time... and we of course have no method to test you here... I'm no doctor but have you noticed any changes in your body lately?"

"Err... well actually... yes," She admitted quietly, "The other night where I said I was too uncomfortable to sleep... it was my, uh, my breasts were very sore."

"I see... It's not much to go on, but I think we should err on the side of caution with this," Zeke said, "Until we know for sure, it's best to assume you are pregnant."

Priscilla's stomach turned and her chest suddenly went tight. She and Reiner just dealt with the fact that they could never have a family, but now Zeke was telling her she might be with child due to a convenient genetic loophole. It was pretty stupid of the couple to have been so reckless, when the sex first started neither of them knew about the Hyperian and Eldian thing so it should have been a very present fear that Priscilla could get pregnant – but being young, in love and horny tends to cloud the mind.

This only complicated their situation. Now they could have a legacy, but Reiner was still going to die in just a few years – leaving the potential child fatherless for most of it's life. Priscilla looked down and one of her hands, almost as if magnetized due to this new information, rubbed across her stomach.

"...What do I tell him?" She murmured, "He only just told me about how you shifters die after just 13 years, he even said that it's for the best that we couldn't have a baby together..."

"So you only just found out..." Zeke said in a comforting tone. Priscilla nodded.

"We already came to terms with it, and now what shouldn't have happened... did happen," She continued with her voice beginning to break, "What do I do? How do I tell him?"

"I don't have the answer on how to talk to Reiner about it," Zeke began. He reached out and placed a hand on her knee, "But if you chose to, you could have the pregnancy terminated when we return to Marley."

"T-Terminated?!" She exclaimed, neck snapping up. Her eyes lit up with disbelief and met Zeke's serene blue eyes. She didn't know the specifics of what he was talking about but the terminology of terminating a pregnancy was clear enough for her.

"It's generally frowned upon by the less liberal members of society, but it is an option," Zeke explained, "Especially if you didn't want to tell Reiner you were ever pregnant. Keep it a secret and have the fetus terminated without him knowing."

Priscilla lunged forward abruptly, thrusting one arm out and grabbing Zeke by the throat. In a strange surge of strength, she was able to force him down onto his back and keep him pinned as she hovered above him – the disbelief in her eyes had faded and now they were glowing with fury.

"Don't tell Reiner? Keep it a secret?" She echoed venomously. Her voice was low and dangerous, "What a piece of shit you are, Zeke..."

"Pri- I-" He choked, but she gripped him harder so he couldn't even come close to speaking.

"No. He has to know. I don't want to do anything unless he knows about it," She growled as she kept him subdued, "And together we'll decide what needs to be done."

With her conviction known, she sat back and released Zeke from her vice grip. He coughed and gasped for air desperately. He felt utterly weak and shocked that this girl was strong enough to hold him down and subdue him seemingly effortlessly and he wasn't able to do a damn thing about it. The pale maiden stood up and looked down upon Zeke, absolutely disgusted with him. She wanted to literally kick him while he was down and hurt him as much as she could, but Priscilla kept her cool and just walked away.

As she made her way back to the tent she shared with Reiner, Zeke sat up and watched her go. She could be a bit of a pain in the ass to talk to, but suddenly she seemed sinister.

"Priscilla Ziegler... Just what kind of beast are you hiding?" Zeke asked himself quietly as she left him behind. He kept his eyes on her – despite the danger that was emanating from her, Zeke found her curiously alluring, "I guess I'll just have to find it myself..."

What beast that may or may not be hidden inside her was calmed once she entered the tent and found Reiner fast asleep. Her expression softened as she looked upon her future husband, her stare lingering only for a moment before she laid down next to him. Priscilla snuggled up to him lovingly, leaning in so her lips were right by his ear.

"Congrats Reiner..." She whispered to her sleeping lover, "You're gonna be a daddy."

* * *

"Come on, Addie. We can't be too long or someone will notice..."

A boy of about 15 or 16 lead a young girl by the hand through the thicket that guarded the great city of Hyperia. Both with silvery white hair, pale skin and emerald eyes.

"We're not supposed to leave the city," The little girl said timidly, "We're going to get in trouble."

"If we're quick then nobody will know," The boy assured her and then looked back over his shoulder at her, "I think it's important for me to show you what's beyond the boundary of our world."

"Yes, brother." She obediently responded, but the worry in her would not settle.

The two came to the edge of the forest and the boy stopped, gesturing for the little girl to stand beside him. He crouched down next to her as they peered out into the open plains, putting an arm around her.

"Look, Adrestia... Do you see them?" He whispered to her.

"W-What..." Adrestia began with her eyes widening as she gawked at what her brother had brought her to see, "What are they, Anteros?"

"Titans."

Horrible giant creatures that varied in size lumbered across the land, all heading in the same direction. They looked like humans to an extent, but something about them was "off" enough to make them utterly frightening. They weren't close to the tree line, but not so far off that the two of them couldn't make sense of their general looks. Adrestia stared in horror and began to shake – she'd never seen something as monstrous as these creatures before. Hyperia was focused on the beauty of all things, so such ugliness was foreign and disturbing to her.

"Brother..." She spoke as her eyes that remained fixed on the Titans began to water, "Why did you bring me here...?"

"There will come a day where you'll have to face the horrors of what lies beyond Hyperia. It's a cruel world out there, and the Titans are only one part of it..." Anteros replied, squeezing her shoulder. His tone then grew grim, "We've lived in this protected place all our lives, safe from all the evils of this world. But we're going to have to leave soon."

"Why?" Adrestia asked, finally looking away from the Titans and to her brother.

"Our people are in trouble, Addie. You're too young to understand why, but father says we have to go," He continued, his tone shifting to something more bitter now and his grip on her shoulder tightening, " _And what father says, goes._ "

"It's not fair..." Adrestia sniffled, "I don't want to leave... I don't want to go anywhere!"

The girl threw herself into her brother's arms and started to sob hysterically, repeatedly uttering 'it's not fair' between her cries. Anteros held her tightly to try and calm her down. After letting her cry for a bit, he leaned in close and whispered in her ear...

"Do you want to know a secret?"

"Huh...?" She asked, pulling back to look at him.

"Titans are humans... Humans were transformed into those _things_ you see before you now."

"What?!" She shrieked hysterically, "How?! D-Does that mean I could get turned into a Titan?!"

"No, no... I would never let you become a monster, sweet sister. Besides, it's impossible for us to become Titans." Anteros went on in a soothing tone.

"I... I don't understand..." Adrestia whimpered.

"There's only one race of people that can become Titans. I know this may surprise you but... other people live on this island outside of Hyperia," Anteros explained. By now his sister's fear and woe had subsided and curiosity swelled within her, "They are called Eldians and even though they look human, Titans are their true form. These 'people' live like animals caged within the barricades of their walled cities, trembling in fear of the Titans – all the while blissfully unaware that they're living in fear of themselves."

"How do you know all this, brother...?" Adrestia marveled at his wealth of knowledge.

"I have my ways... but father would never pass on the knowledge to you unless it was absolutely necessary. He thinks you're better off not knowing because..."

Anteros' words got stuck in his throat as he thought about what he was going to say. Adrestia looked at him with eyes that begged for him to go on.

"Because why, Anteros?" She asked.

"Because... Father, he said it's too dangerous for you to come with the rest of us. You're too young to make the long journey where we're all going, so... he's going to leave you inside the walled city of the Eldians and return for you after we get the help we need." He replied, the anguish on his face as he spoke couldn't be hidden – it like he was being stabbed in the heart as he revealed this to her, "It's crucial that you live, and taking you on a dangerous journey... it's risky. I don't like it, but you'll... be safer staying and waiting for us to come back."

"No!" Adrestia screamed and jumped into her brother's arms again. She began to bawl again, "Don't leave me brother! Please! I don't want you to go!"

Anteros held his sister tightly as the resentment he felt towards their father boiled in his belly. His unblinking eyes burned with hatred as Adrestia had her face buried in his chest while she cried.

"I don't like it either... _but what father says, goes,_ " He spat those last words out with utter loathing, "We'll be together again soon, Addie. It's just a little while. You staying safe is the most important thing... not just to me, father or to all of Hyperia – but to the world."

"But brother... What am I going to do? I-I need you..." She sniffled, looking up from his chest so that their matching green eyes met one another.

"Hey now," He said, wiping her tears away gently, "I know what a tough girl my sweet little sis is. I know you'll stay strong for me."

"I'll... do my best..."

"Good girl," He added, giving her a pat on the head, "We should be getting back, but before we go, would you like to know one more secret?"

"Yeah!" The now enthusiastic young girl exclaimed.

"There will come a day where you and I kill every last Titan that walks the earth... and not just the Titans, but every single one of those soulless devils that are pretending to be human too. None of them can be trusted and none of them deserve to live. They are life unworthy of life... and together, you and I will cleanse the earth of their wretchedness."

"We can do that?" Adrestia murmured with wonder.

"Yes, and we _must_ ," Anteros replied as he pet his dear sister's silky hair, "For that is our purpose."

* * *

Priscilla's eyes shot open. In her sleep she had rolled onto her back while Reiner was still on his side, completely undisturbed. Her head was throbbing and drops of sweat dotted her brow. She sat up slowly and breathed deep.

"Was that a dream...?" She whispered, careful not to be too loud and wake up her sleeping partner, "It felt too real... and why do I feel so horrible?"

 _For that is our purpose_

The final words spoken in her dream lingered in her mind. It conjured a sinister feeling in Priscilla's gut, but the boy who was clearly her brother spoke it as if it were a good thing; like it were something to take pride in and look forward to. Zeke had mentioned she could help them exterminate the Eldians of this island, which is what her brother must have meant by saying they would kill all the Titans and those 'devils pretending to be human' too. Priscilla tried to brush it off as just a bizarre dream, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being shown a memory. As if her subconscious was trying to reveal more to her now that she'd opened the door of knowledge in her waking life... A lost memory coming back to her wouldn't be _too_ wild of an idea, she supposed.

"What did he mean by that?" She continued to herself, "My purpose... is to kill Eldians?"

She felt the need to get up and stretch so she left the tent and carefully rose to her feet. Nobody else seemed to be awake, which was no surprise since it was so early in the morning that it was dark and the moon still hung in the sky. The girl inhaled deeply and felt the crisp air fill her lungs. She suddenly started to feel better now that she was out there in the open with the clear sky full of stars above her. Priscilla really wished Reiner were awake – she wanted to talk to him, kiss him and be held by him after feeling so deprived of that before going to sleep due to her chat with Zeke – but she wasn't going to deliberately disturb his rest to satisfy her selfish neediness.

Thinking of getting to talk to Reiner brought her mind back to that heavy subject that she'd eventually have to bring up with him, and it made her so nervous just to think about it. She placed both of her hands on her stomach and wondered if Zeke could be right about her being pregnant. Priscilla wasn't all that knowledgeable about reproduction and what it felt like to be with child, especially at such an early stage. It was far to soon for her to have a "bump" that would be able to confirm it without any doctor needed. It was so obscenely frightening not knowing.

"Priss..." Came the tired voice of Reiner behind her. With a tiny gasp she turned to see him emerging from the tent, "What are you doing out here?"

"I had a weird dream and needed some air..." She freely admitted as he approached her, "Did my fumbling around wake you? Sorry."

"It wasn't that, somehow I think I could just sense you weren't next to me anymore even though I was asleep." He explained.

"So it was still kind of my fault is what you're saying?" She grinned, drawing a quiet chuckle out of him.

"Well, as long as nothing's wrong it doesn't matter," He said and extended a hand to her, "Let's go back to bed."

"Yeah, sounds good." She agreed, reaching out and grabbing his hand.

As the two of them ducked back into their tent, Priscilla felt the need to speak what was weighing heavily on her mind, but it was so difficult. Reiner released her hand and laid down on his back, silently inviting her to cuddle up next to him and Priscilla was more than happy to of course. She laid down on her side next to him and he wrapped an arm around her and held her close. She nuzzled up to his chest and listened to his steady breathing while she contemplated whether or not to speak.

"Reiner..." She began, his name clumsily spilling out of her mouth.

"What's up?" He replied.

"Uh..." She choked, suddenly very much not wanting to talk about it, "I just... I wanted to say I love you."

"Heh... I love you too. That's something I'll never get tired of saying."

"Me neither." Priscilla agreed with a warm smile, "You know what else I know I'll never get tired of doing?"

"...I can think of a few things." Reiner snickered.

"No not like _that..._ " She insisted, "Although you're not wrong... but what I was thinking is that I'll never get tired of introducing myself to people as Mrs. Priscilla Braun."

"Mrs. Priscilla Braun? I like the sound of that. I know I'm gonna love showing you off to everyone back home," He responded with a smug grin, "There's not a chance in hell anyone has seen someone as beautiful as you, you'll be catching every guy's eye."

"Pffft, yeah right..." Priscilla scoffed and rolled her eyes, "I'm sure all the girls will be jealous that I get to have you all to myself."

The two of them laughed quietly as they imagined little nuances of their life in Marley together. It was a nice break from the dire subjects they had endured recently. However, Priscilla knew she had to talk to him about it soon but couldn't bring herself to do it just yet. Despite her burning need to put it out there, she found herself holding back. It wasn't exactly hard to pinpoint why it was so hard – on top of the shifter curse, both of them being just 17 wasn't exactly ideal either.

 _Well at least we'll be married so kid won't be a bastard..._ Priscilla thought as her eyes gave into her tiredness and closed. As she drifted off to sleep, she hoped no more dreams would disturb her that night.


	15. Chapter XI: Covetous Hunter

**A/N: I just found out the American pronunciation of "Ziegler" is "Ziggler" and oh my god I was horrified, but the proper German pronunciation is how I intended it: Zee-gler. So if anyone was confused about her surname, there you have it. Ziggler sounds so bad holy shit. Enjoy the chapter yous guys.**

 **Chapter XI: Covetous Hunter**

" _The king is always watching her out of his pale eyes, wondering what she is, and the king's son wounds himself with loving her and wonders who she is."_

Priscilla slowly awoke a few hours later. The sun was up – she guessed it was somewhere in the mid-morning or early afternoon hours. The more interesting thing though is that she knew she had another dream, but not one she could remember now. The way she knew was the familiar wet feeling between her legs.

 _So I don't get to remember the fun dream... That's not very fair._

She drew her legs up to her chest and dexterously slid off her panties without sitting up. She tossed them aside so she didn't have to feel her lingering wetness in them until they dried, she could do just fine without them for now. Her movement made her shirt shift around a bit, which revealed the other indicator that she was dreaming of something sexual: hard nipples. The subtle stimulating sensation of the fabric moving across them was light but still enough to easily notice.

The girl's eyes traveled over to Reiner, who was still very much asleep, and wondered if she should wake him up and offer herself for him to enjoy. After a moment of consideration she elected not to bother him, even though she was sure he'd happily rise to the occasion, instead Priscilla opted to let him wake up on his own and then see if he wanted to do something. She could keep herself aroused until then by using her fingers. After Reiner had brought her to such an intense orgasm that it made her squirt, she wondered if it was something she could achieve on her own or if it was something that would be exclusive to him... she'd be happy with either answer. It was nice to think about Reiner having that special talent to get her body to do things she couldn't get it to do herself.

First things first: she unbuttoned her shirt so that she could tease her nipples for a while. It was a very real possibility that if she went straight to masturbating that she wouldn't be able to restrain herself and end up cumming sooner than she'd like – her impulse control with sex wasn't great. She licked both her thumbs and forefingers before getting to work on her sensitive buds. She slowly started to tweak her nipples between her digits. Her cheeks started to redden and her mouth curved into a tiny smile as she laid her head back and closed her eyes. With her eyes shut she could more vividly picture the romps of the day prior to feed her arousal.

As she played with those pert, pink nipples of hers she couldn't help but think back to the times before she and Reiner really got together romantically and sexually – when her only means of intimacy with him was detached and distant sessions of self pleasure. Now he was right next to her and if he were awake he'd be an active participant, but there was something nostalgic to her about doing it this way. The reminiscing lead her to a thought that got her going even more: this situation but in reverse, Reiner masturbating while she was sleeping... not just to her, but _on_ her. The idea of waking up covered in his cum was delightfully erotic, she thought of it as a sexy little surprise. She imagined the different ways he could go about it. The easiest would be to do it on her face, but her wearing a loose shirt – one of his – would allow him to carefully push it up to blow his load on her tits as she slept. Or maybe go to sleep on her stomach, since she often just had her panties as her bottoms when sleeping he would have no problem getting a view of her ass – perhaps he could slyly pull them off. It would be like a game – could Reiner strip a piece of clothing off her without waking her up?

" _Oh God..._ " Priscilla moaned softly as her mind raced through this new fantasy.

The pale nymph then brought her right hand up to her mouth again to freshen the wetness of her fingers before bringing them between her legs. She kept using her left to play with her breast as best she could with her non-dominant hand. The physical remains brought on by the erotic dream that she couldn't remember combined with her sexual train of thought and nipple teasing without a doubt already had her super horny. Again, she had to pace herself, but damn if she didn't want Reiner awake and inside her already. She forced herself to go slow, starting with the circular motion on her clit.

Priscilla smiled, still with eyes shut and head tilted back. This was the plan, just keep slowly masturbating just like that until Reiner woke up – no matter how long that took. The slow pace would prevent her from getting too temptingly close to cumming, and if she somehow started to approach that threshold she resolved to just pull her hand back for a bit before continuing. Easy enough. Never hurts to boost your strength of will every once in a while, in lewd or non lewd ways.

She was enjoying the prolonged state of arousal immensely, to the point that she wasn't really keeping track of how long Reiner remained sleeping for. Not to say that she no longer wanted him involved, she very much did, but for now she was satisfied enough with exactly what she was doing in the meantime. She switched from circles to slowly drag two of her fingers from her slit up to her clit, flicking at the end. The simple change up in motion brought out another moan from her.

"Hmm..."

Priscilla heard Reiner stir next to her, and what a perfect time it was. She watched him slowly awaken, hoping that he'd be down to fuck – but if he wasn't in the mood, she'd have no problem finishing herself off. She rolled onto her side so she could be face to face with him and greet him properly.

"Hey there..." She purred as his eyes opened.

"Hey... how long have you been awake?" Reiner asked tiredly, "You should have woken me u-"

He didn't notice she wasn't wearing anything right away, but it was impossible to let that body go unnoticed for long.

"Sleep well?" Priscilla asked, running one of her hands across Reiner's chest.

"Yeah..." He murmured in response, "Where did all your clothes go?"

"Hah... Well to be perfectly honest, I woke up all horny so I decided to keep myself busy until you woke up on your own. Clothes were just getting in the way, know what I mean?"

" _I gotcha,_ " Reiner grinned, "You could have just woken me up if you wanted though."

"Aw, but I wanted you to get your rest..." She responded, "But you're awake now... You wanna? Just a quickie?"

Reiner smirked and leaned in for a deep kiss – that was more than enough of an answer for her. After breaking the kiss, Priss rolled onto her back as Reiner stripped off his own clothes – he was suddenly so energetic that it didn't seem like he was sleeping just moments ago. Priss looked up at him longingly, and Reiner returned that gaze of wanting right back to her. He was already getting hard but he started to stroke himself to speed along the process – looking down at the naked body of his lover who was ready and waiting for him definitely helped too. The man parted her legs and got between them, where he pressed the head of his cock against her already wet entrance.

Priss bit her lip as she felt the tip of his dick teasing her. The blonde was taking great pleasure in watching her anticipation intensify. The look in her eye that communicated clearly how much she wanted him only made him harder. At that point though, he didn't much feel like waiting just for the purpose of teasing her anymore – his sexual willpower wasn't all that strong either. Reiner forcefully pushed his cock inside her and relished in the wet warmth as he eased the full length deep into her.

As annoying as it was to have to be quick about it, being able to get some sex in whenever they could was still great. Even though they thoroughly went at it the day before, the two of them could never get enough of each other... and with the fate of a shifter now known to her, it was more important than ever to take advantage of every moment. Not just for fucking, of course, but that was part of it for sure.

Reiner leaned forward and Priscilla extended her arms and wrapped them around him to pull him in as close as she could. He didn't put the entirety of his weight on her, he supported himself with one arm on the ground next to her while he held onto her shoulder with the opposite hand. There was no time for foreplay or anything sensual – the both of them were aware they were waking later than usual and had to make quick work of things, so Reiner wasted no time in getting down to business. He started thrusting in and out, quietly grunting in her ear each time he went in – and Priscilla matched the pace of his noises with her own little moans. The girl wrapped her legs around him tightly so she could pull him as deep into her as possible, and she heard him chuckle.

" _I love it when you do that._ " He said between his grunts.

Once she had her legs locked around him, her hands moved to his back where she held onto him hard. Being held so tightly against her made it hard to pull out to a great degree for intense thrusting, but they both liked the closeness of this style. He couldn't go at her very hard and rough in this position, but he could still go fast, plus having their bodies practically merging together meant he was rubbing up against her clit while he fucked her. Given how she had come into this already pretty close to cumming, Priss quickly found herself on the precipice of her orgasm – and it would be even better than if she had done it herself because now Reiner was involved.

"Ahhh..." She breathed in his ear as she clung harder to him, feeling her body tensing up, " _Keep going._ "

Reiner's climax was rapidly approaching too and he growled deeply, not slowing his pace one bit. It was anyone's guess of who'd get to cum first that morning, but Priss had an unfair head start in the matter even with Reiner now catching up. That early start proved to be impossible for him to catch up to that quickly though. Priscilla's muscles tightened and her eyes closed as she hit her climax. She let out shuddering moans with each wave that constituted the single orgasm, drawn out by her clit continuing to be stimulated after the fact. Once she had finished, she heard an odd rustling. She opened her eyes she saw the flap of the tent fluttering a bit but was too caught up in getting fucked to think all that hard hard about it, so she pulled Reiner as close to her as she could while he jack hammered away at her.

Priss was quite in tune with him and could generally tell when he was about to nut, especially given their history where he tended to follow shortly after her – feeling her pussy squeeze his cock tightly was a maddening sensation that he loved, combined with the fact that he knew he was pleasing her so well ensured he'd be cumming soon unless he forced himself not to. With all that on the table, Reiner arched his back and let loose a large load inside of her. He shot out several thick ropes of cum before letting out a content sigh and relaxing his body.

"Heh... you're gonna think I'm crazy..." Priss began, "But I swore I could feel you cum just now. The twitching of your dick and even your cum filling me up."

"You serious?" Reiner asked between his heavy pants.

"Maybe I just imagined it... I'll try to pay more attention next time. Might be a bit hard to focus though so no promises."

She giggled, knowing full well she wouldn't be able to so specifically direct her attention to something when getting dicked down by her lover. Reiner moved off her and sat back, steadily catching his breath after the fast fuck.. Priscilla sat up and looked down at her clothes on the ground next to her – nothing about them looked to be comfortable, and comfort was what she wanted.

"Reiner, I wanna wear your shirt today. That loose one you sleep in..." She said, "Lemme weaaaar it..."

"Would I say no to that?" Reiner responded as he grabbed his comfy shirt and tossed it to her.

"Thank you," She said sweetly, crawling up to him and giving him a peck on the lips, "You're too good to me."

" _Too good?_ " Reiner repeated with a laugh, "You make it sound like letting you wear my shirt is spoiling or something."

"Well, I do feel a bit spoiled sometimes," She admitted as she slipped into his large shirt, "You always give me what I ask for."

"Heh, just you wait... Once we're back in Marley, I'll show you what it _really_ means to get spoiled. Anything you want, I'll go out of my way to get it," Reiner started, reaching out and grabbing her hands in his, "It's my job to see that you're happy, and I'm gonna make damn sure I do it."

"Just being with you makes me happier than anything else," She assured him, "You should know that by now."

"I do, I do..." He grinned, "But I still want to spoil you."

"Well don't worry, I'm not gonna stop you," She laughed.

The two of them smiled at each other, enjoying that moment of being _somewhat_ alone before they had to go and face the day and whatever it brought. Reiner dressed himself in his day time clothes, but Priss didn't put anything else on after his sleeping shirt except for her panties. Pants were far too restricting for her liking right now.

The two of them stepped out into the open camp. Zeke was standing in front of their little coffee station with his back to the couple, Bertolt sat on the ground opposite him.

"Nice of you to finally join us," Zeke said having heard the two of them emerge from their tent, "Little late this morning."

"Sorry," Reiner apologized, "Neither of us got a good night of sleep."

The pair exchanged mischievous glances and Priscilla had to suppress a devilish giggle over Reiner telling a bit of a lie. Zeke turned to face them, and when he saw the two of them his eyes went wide behind his glasses – specifically upon seeing the girl.

"What in the..." He choked out awkwardly, "Where the hell are your clothes?"

"Hm? Oh yeah I wasn't into that idea today," Priscilla replied dismissively, "It's getting hot too so I need to keep cool. It's not like there's any shade up he-"

"Go back in your tent and put pants on..." Zeke commanded.

"Or what? We both know you aren't gonna do anything if I don't listen to you," She responded smugly, "Besides, isn't in your best interest to make sure I'm comfortable and happy right now?"

"I don't see how keeping you happy your current condition is relevant to the amount of clothes you wear."

"...Current condition?" Asked Reiner.

Zeke shot Priss a curious glance but she quickly turned her head down. She realized she just unintentionally lead to what could only end in revealing _that_. Despite not looking at either of them, Priss could feel the eyes of the two Warriors on her.

"Oh, you haven't told him yet, have you?" Zeke said. Priscilla's nostrils flared and her head snapped back up.

"We only discussed it last night and it's kind of a hard thing to talk about considering everything that's gone on!" She frustratedly shouted, "I have barely had time to process it myself! I couldn't figure out how to tell him just yet, I wanted to, but I didn't know how!"

"What are you two talking about?!" Reiner exclaimed, looking back and forth between his lover and his Warchief, "What haven't you told me yet, Priss?"

"Well this sure is awkward now isn't it..." Zeke muttered, "Bertolt, why don't we give these two a bit of privacy?"

Bertolt didn't even have time to respond before Zeke power walked over to him and started leading him away. Priss waited for the other two to get some distance before she started this talk. Once she was satisfied with the space between them and the other two, she turned to her lover, swallowing hard as she prepared to tell him what Zeke believed was going on with her.

"W-Well..." She stuttered, finding it difficult to look right at him, "Zeke and I were talking last night... uhh, obviously you know that. We read about all that weird biology stuff and then he asked me some personal stuff about you and me... Uhm..."

"Priss, just tell me, how bad can it b-"

"He thinks I'm pregnant!" She finally blurted out.

Yet another horribly awkward silence settled in. Priss's eyes went from looking into his to down at the ground while Reiner was just staring at her, stunned. They had just gone through the emotional ringer of coping with the fact that they couldn't have children and came to accept it, but now a huge wrench was thrown into everything.

"How could that be possible?" Reiner asked, flat in tone due to his disbelief. Priscilla turned her head up again.

"Zeke told me about you, how you're only half Eldian... He thinks maybe that's some kind of loophole in all this..." She explained.

"...Preg...nant..." Reiner drawled, absolutely floored by this bomb dropped on him. He slowly sat down and tried to process this information. Priscilla knelt down in front of Reiner, whose head was in his hand.

"We just talked about how it was probably for the best that we couldn't..." Priscilla began, "Since you..."

"Yeah..." Reiner sighed, "I know."

"Zeke said we have some options," She went on, "There's of course putting it up for adoption... he also said we could uh... Terminate it. I don't exactly know what the details of that are but the word "terminate" gives me enough of an idea..."

"Give it up or terminate it?" Reiner repeated, looking up at her at last, "Priss, that's not all we could do."

"...But you said how unfair it would be for a child to grow up without a father, Reiner. You... You seriously think we should keep it?"

"You forgot what else we talked about," Reiner started, reaching out and taking her hand, "A legacy. I may be gone in a few years, but now we have a way for me – for us – to live on even when that time comes."

"R-Really...?" She asked incredulously, eyes starting to sparkle, "You really mean it, Reiner? You want to have this baby?"

"I do," He assured her, holding onto her hand tightly with both of his while he locked eyes with her, "I will do everything I can to be the best husband and father I can be with the time I have left. We're going to have a real family of our own... and I will make every moment count. _I swear it._ "

* * *

Now that she had that talk with Reiner, Priscilla had felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Sure, being sort of forced into it wasn't a great way to go about it, but the fact that it was done now removed the heavy anxiety that had been hanging over her head. However, now she had to go endure more time alone with Zeke while they delved further into the mysteries surrounding her and her people.

"There is something I have to confess before we pick up where we left off last night," Zeke began with a scratch of his ear, "I haven't been _entirely_ honest with you."

"I'm not _entirely_ shocked by that." Priscilla retorted

"I know I told you that all your people died in Marley," Zeke went on, unfazed by her snark, "But that was before I knew the relevant information that I know now..."

"...So some of them are still alive?"

"Not 'some,'" Zeke corrected, "One. Your brother."

"Oh, come on!" Priscilla shouted, "You're telling me that the only other person of my race that survived just _happens_ to be my brother? You've gotta be kidding me."

"Even if you choose not to believe it, that's the truth," Zeke responded, keeping his calm, "I met him years ago, before any of the Warriors left for Paradis. You could say we developed a bit of a rapport. The name he went by in Marley was Fredrik Ziegler, but he insisted on me calling him by his true name."

"Anteros?"

"That's right. He's waiting for you, he's been waiting a long time. He spoke of his sister who was, in his words, trapped on the island of demons. I knew I'd eventually be sent here as a Warrior of Marley... So, I told him I would keep an eye out for her. I wouldn't go out of my way to track her down, but if by chance I came across a girl who looked like him..."

"You two were friendly enough to do him that kind of favor?"

"Anteros and I were... Kindred spirits, I suppose you could say," Zeke explained, "We have similar ideals and convictions."

"Uh huh..." Priscilla wasn't interested in whatever the hell their mutual convictions were, "Well, does it even matter? I didn't even remember he existed until yesterday so this isn't exactly life changing information."

"You just found out you're not the only one of your kind left in the world..." Zeke spoke incredulously, "Not only that, but the other single survivor is your brother. You should feel some happiness or at least relief."

"Why would I be happy or relieved?"

"Because now you know you're not alone."

"...I wasn't alone though," Priscilla replied with furrowed brows, "I have Reiner. We've been together for years... Not in the same sense that we are now, but as long as he was in my life I was never alone."

"I think there's some major distinction to be made between your boyfriend and your own flesh and blood, Miss Ziegler." Zeke countered.

"Well I'll have you know Reiner's not just my boyfriend, he's my fiance now," She proudly revealed, "He said once we go home to Marley he wants to make it official. Husband, wife and then later on a baby."

"Already considering Marley your home?"

"If that's where Reiner calls home, then it's my home too," She proclaimed, but then a thought struck her... a thought that got a knot forming in her stomach, "Wait... you told my brother you'd see if you could find me. To bring me back to Marley?"

"Yes." Zeke confirmed.

"...Did..." She began, "Did Reiner know about this agreement you had with him? Did you tell him to 'keep an eye out for me' too? Is that why he was so nice to me from the get go...?"

"No," Zeke assured her, "None of the other Warriors were even aware he existed and the little pact between Anteros and I was something we kept between us. Reiner knew nothing about what I was doing for your brother. Nobody did... Reiner's feelings for you weren't influenced by any external factors."

Priscilla felt instantly stupid for questioning Reiner's feelings for her in a paranoid lapse of judgment. As much as she questioned Zeke's general sincerity, this was a moment where she believed his words fully.

"There is... something I'd like to bring up that your brother told me though," Zeke began, "We didn't get a chance for him to share a great deal of information about Hyperians, but one thing he shared about your people's customs is very relevant to me right now."

"Uh, what's that?" Priss asked.

"The way they approached sex was not for pleasure or an emotional connection... It was only done for procreation according to your brother," Zeke spoke, "You're pregnant already, so we know that what you and Reiner are doing is for pleasure and appeals to your emotions. And I doubt before you conceived you did it with the intention to get pregnant."

"What are you getting at here...?" She murmured with eyes narrowed at him.

"Well it raises the question: Why?" Zeke continued, "Why are you supposedly the only one who behaves like that? Were you for some reason just wired that way? ...Or has something _made_ you that way? Is it something about Reiner? Would your body feel pleasure if it were someone else?"

"Someone else?" She sneered, enraged at the mere suggestion, "Like who? _You?_ I'm sure you wouldn't hesitate to volunteer..."

It would be be a tremendous understatement to say that the conversation took an incredibly awkward turn. Zeke was left stunned by Priscilla's blunt take on what he was saying, so stunned that he couldn't begin to think of a response. As she stared at him her mind wandered to earlier since sex was now the subject of the conversation... suddenly that moment where she noticed the entrance to the tent flutter and the sound of quick shuffling made sense.

"...You were watching me and Reiner earlier, weren't you?" She sternly accused.

"No, I wasn't _watching_..." Zeke defended himself, "I only saw it for a moment. I looked in an-"

"Why would you look in?!" She shrieked in disbelief.

"I didn't know what was going on in there, I looked in to wake you up because it was getting late," Zeke insisted, "If it makes you feel any better I didn't see much of you, you were mostly covered by Reiner."

"Oh yeah I feel a TON better..." She huffed, "I bet you would have just loved to get a view of me... And I have a real hard time believing once you got close to the tent you couldn't _hear_ what was going on, and then you just peek in to steal a glance at me getting fu-"

" _That's enough._ " Zeke said firmly as frustration started to flare within him.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Are you uncomfortable?" Priscilla asked mockingly, then returned to her venom, "You've made _me_ plenty uncomfortable. I'm just returning the favor because I'm such a nice fucking person!"

"I said that's _ENOUGH!_ " The shifter shouted, his shock having fully transitioned to an explosive fury. Priscilla was not intimidated by him raising his voice though, but he wasn't done speaking, "My options for punishing you may be limited, but there's still something I can do to put you in your place."

"Tch, like what? Bend me over your knee and spank me while you call me a bad girl?" She responded mockingly, "Ohh I bet you'd _like_ that, you'd probably get off on it."

"Reiner!" Zeke shouted over his shoulder, "Shift into your Titan!"

Priscilla raised an eyebrow at the man across from her. She couldn't think of a reason as to why this would be relevant to punishing her.

"Miss Ziegler, I can see you're confused so let me explain it for you..." Zeke said as he stood up, "The last time our Titans fought, I defeated him, and if he loses to me again... then when we get back to Marley, I will see to it that he is immediately fed to the next in line for the Armor."

"What?!" She shrieked, her eyes shooting open and starting to water, "N-No! You can't!"

"I can and I will, and you'll have no-one to blame but yourself for his death." Zeke spoke, looking down on her, "I hope your crude mouthing off was worth it, Ziegler."

"But-! You're such a bastard that you'd kill a man who's going to be a father?!"

"I don't exactly feel good about doing that, but I'll just think of it in terms of the mission's success," Zeke replied, "It's his fault the Paradis Island operation has been the disaster that it is thus far and he knows it. Another Warrior candidate has the potential to be better than him, more worthy to hold The Armored Titan."

"I can't believe this!" She screamed, standing up as well, "You're such a piece of shit!"

"Are you ready?" Zeke asked Reiner, who had approached the other two after being beckoned to battle, "This is your chance to prove you're still deserving of the Armor, Reiner."

Priscilla ran over to Reiner and threw herself into him, clinging to him desperately.

"I'm sorry!" She wailed, then turned her face to look back over to Zeke, "Please... Don't do this... I'm sorry."

* * *

 _The siblings stood again at the edge of the forest that guarded their grand city. Adrestia looked worried while Anteros had a wild look in his eye as he stared out at the horizon. His fists were clenched tightly._

" _That world out there," He began, "It belongs to us."_

" _Brother... please... let's go back..."_

" _Why are you afraid, Addie?!" He exclaimed, whipping around to look at her, "Because father and some old books tell us we're meant to stay here?!"_

 _Anteros turned back to looking outwards to the plains where Titans roamed._

" _For far too long have we lived in secret all due to the preachings of those who are long dead... We have to go out there and take it for ourselves." He went on._

 _Suddenly Anteros reached back and grabbed Adrestia by the hand and started to march forward._

" _Brother, no!" She exclaimed._

 _But there was no stopping him. Despite her pleas to stay within the confines of the forest, Anteros strode out beyond the trees and stepped into the openness that was the world outside Hyperia. Despite them merely stepping out from the other side of the trees, there was something strangely significant about the simple action they took. Adrestia's eyes widened and a shiver ran down her spine as a feeling she couldn't describe filled her from head to toe._

" _Do you feel it?" He asked, still not looking back at her, "You suddenly realize just how trapped we are in our city, right?"_

 _Words failed her, but she knew exactly what Anteros was talking about. She was just a child but the revelation was clear: they weren't protected, they were trapped in a prison painted as a utopia. They were presented with an image of a world with everything they needed, every amenity, perfect beauty and peace._

" _Father and all the others just wanted to keep our people controlled," Anteros went on bitterly, "The knowledge they allow the likes of us to have isn't the full picture, they're keeping us ignorant. But I refuse. I'm going to take back this world that we've been denied for so long."_

" _How..." Adrestia asked softly, "How did..."_

" _When you start to ask questions and get no answers, just excuses, it's as good as getting an answer," Anteros responded, finally looking over to her, "You and I are going to change things, we're going to get what we deserve, I swear it."_

 _The eyes of a child had now been opened. A new seeker of freedom had been created and it was as if this was her true time of being born into this world – a world of cruelty and ugliness, but also insight. The truth was starting to be laid before her... and it was both terrifying and enrapturing._


	16. Chapter XII: Son of Perdition

**A/N: Thinking of making a big change to something pretty major I had planned that I will have to consider heavily, but writing out a potential scenario for how the changed aspect plays out proved to be very interesting and compelling. A bit early with this upload (which I'd prefer to be rather than LATE) since part of it was written for chapter 11. Anyway, the wild ride continues...**

 **Chapter XII: Son of Perdition**

 _"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed..."_

"YOU'RE AN _UGLY_ MAN WITH AN _UGLY_ TITAN!"

Poor Priscilla was on her hands and knees on top of the wall as she watched the Armored Titan and the Beast Titan face off. Her pretty face was twisted in despair – her eyes were red, cheeks were soaked with tears and her nose was running disgustingly. She was furious and upset over what she had caused, but mostly full of disdain for the leader of the Warriors. Her head fell and she beat her fist against the stone beneath her.

"I hate him! I hate that bastard! I hate him so _fucking_ much!" She screamed like a child, then snapped her head back up to call out to Zeke once more, "Can't handle a little back talk you piece of shit?!"

"Knock it off!" Bertolt shouted at her from behind. He didn't want to get too close to her and risk her lashing out physically, he was extremely wary of this volatile woman. Bertolt was always a bit weird about her, mostly because of the distraction she posed to Reiner, but now he was truly starting to detest her – and he couldn't help but _honestly_ believe she was some sort of dark enchantress set on ruining everything for them all, that was the level of paranoia he was operating at now as he had watch their group descend into chaos over just a few days. Back during training and their time in the military he had been able to keep himself civil and pleasant, but now things were far different.

"Why bother?" She growled without looking away from the two Titans, "It's not gonna stop them. I already tried saying I was sorry to him... So what does it matter if I keep telling him exactly what I think?"

"Why... Why are you so difficult?" He asked, but the wildly emotional girl no longer felt like responding to him. While she had strong feelings towards the other two Warriors – vastly different feelings of course – she felt nothing for Bertolt positively or negatively. He was more or less a non-entity to her, in fact Priscilla had barely spoken to him since she arrived. She didn't care to either because he was completely irrelevant in her life.

"What did she even do to start this?" Reiner asked himself within his Titan body, "They were so far away that I have no idea what they could have been talking about... What the hell happened between them?"

He felt conflicted blaming either of them. Questioning his boss seemed wrong, but he believed that Priss wouldn't do something to piss Zeke off without some sort of provocation. He didn't know what to think... and on top of all that...

"A baby..." He continued to himself.

It was impossible to put all these things out of his mind, but it was crucial for Reiner to focus right now. He had lost to Zeke previously and now the result of this duel could potentially be the end of him – but not only that, he wouldn't be able to fulfill the promises he made to Priss. Not only to be a good husband and father, but more importantly to give her a life without barricades. If he lost here, Reiner would never be able to make good on any of that.

The Beast Titan grinned as The Armored Titan stood still while Reiner was getting overwhelmed by his thoughts. Literally all Zeke had to do was pelt boulders at high velocity and it would be an easy win.

"Reiner!" The Beast roared.

This snapped Reiner back into the moment, but he didn't exactly start out thinking properly. He stupidly charged forward without a plan and easily telegraphed his attack, allowing the Beast to dodge him. The Armored Titan stumbled after his failed charging attack, giving Zeke an easy opening to strike. The Beast grabbed the nearest piece of rubble it could find and hurled it right at his opponent, aiming below the nape to give him a good shock but not a destructive one.

The Armored Titan fell to it's knees and Reiner winced. The Beast approached him from behind but The Armored Titan scrambled back to it's feet and went for another charge – however, this one was even more careless than the first, and the Beast managed to grab him and use The Armored Titan's own momentum to throw him to the ground. The Beast grabbed more rubble for his next attack to be ready when The Armored Titan rose to it's feet once more. It took longer than previously, but Reiner got his Titan body back on it's feet... However, when he turned to face off with his opponent once more, he was met with a more merciless volley of large rubble chunks right to the face.

Priscilla watched in agony as her love was getting swiftly taken down by that wretched beast. Her mind kept replaying the scene just before the battle started and she faded into that memory to escape from witnessing the carnage...

" _Zeke, please..." She begged as she looked back over to him while still clinging to Reiner, "I said I was sorry. I mean it. Don't bring Reiner into our bullshit, find some other way to punish me that doesn't involve him!"_

" _Somehow I don't believe you're being sincere..." Zeke responded, "Your eyes always give your true feelings away. No matter what you say or do, you can't hide anything in those honest eyes. They tell me everything I need to know, for better or worse."_

" _Urgh!" She grunted in frustration, peeling away from Reiner to get in Zeke's face. She was only about three inches shorter than him so it wasn't difficult for her to **literally** get in his face, "And what are they saying right now?!"_

" _That you're full of hate and contempt for me – and that you're not sorry at all."_

" _Well fine, you're damn right! Don't forget disgust because you know what? I bet I'm a nice little jack off fantasy for you," She sneered, "Did you pop a boner earlier? Have you rubbed one out yet thinking of m-"_

 _Zeke thrust his hand forward and grabbed her face tightly and glared at her._

" _A pretty mouth like that shouldn't say such ugly words," Zeke sighed, trying to disguise the fury she was rousing in him, "You really do need to be taught a thing or two about respect. Maybe afte-"_

 _Zeke's speech in an attempt to scold her was interrupted by Priscilla hocking a thick wad of spit right into his mouth mid-sentence. No matter what this man did to intimidate her, she always fired back. Now that Zeke had made it clear he and Reiner would do battle no matter what she said to try and put a stop to it, Priscilla had no reason to keep attempting to play nice after her apologies were disregarded._

"Damn it!" Priscilla wailed as she watched Zeke bully Reiner into defeat, "There's no way that hideous ape is better than Reiner!"

That certainly was the case though, as much as she didn't want to accept it. The Armored Titan laid on it's back with it's armor plates pierced by Zeke's brutal rock throwing, it's face was especially a mess with it's jaw fully unhinged.

"You've lost again, Reiner," The Beast Titan said, squatting down next to the Armored Titan's body, "I'm disappointed."

"REINERRRRRRR! GET UP! DON'T LET HIM BEAT YOU!" Priscilla screamed through her sobs.

"You know what that means..." The Beast paused, thinking for a moment, coming up with another idea, "Alright, here's another option for both of you to consider. You don't pass on your power, you accept your defeat here, but in exchange for your life you let me have the girl to satisfy my wild curiosities."

"What..." Suddenly her voice was low in disbelief, "What did he just say?"

"The things I could learn from having access the last female of her kind... That valuable creature is going to waste if she isn't being studied." The Titan said.

No movement came from The Armored Titan, but within it's heavily damaged body Reiner was hearing every word Zeke was saying. From making his twisted offer to him sickeningly referring to Priss as a "valuable creature" that he wanted to use for his "wild curiosities."

"Zeke, stop it!" Priscilla called, her voice ragged from her crying, "Please... Don't let him die... I'll..."

The words got caught in her throat, words to agree to something she very much didn't want to do, but she _had_ to. If it was to save Reiner from the grim fate of being eaten and taken from her, she would have to submit.

"Oh?" The Beast said, looking up from the Armored Titan and to the Wall where the girl was, "You see, Reiner? She knows what's good for you. In fact, I'm no monster, the two of you have every right to go about your lives together, but I get my time so I can find the answers I seek that only she can provide."

" _Not a monster_..." Priscilla spat under her breath with utter contempt. She could feel the gaze of the Titan's beady eyes on her, waiting to get the confirmation of this agreement spoken. She didn't want to say those words, she didn't want to give Zeke the satisfaction of winning – but what else could she do now? She made her bed and now must lie in it. She had to save Reiner, even if it meant sacrificing a part of herself that she never would allow otherwise.

" _uuuuuuuUUUUREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_ "

Before anything more could be said, The Armored Titan roared back to life. It's eyes burned bright and it's body was suddenly regenerating at a more rapid pace than ever before. Everyone stared in dumbfounded shock – this battle wasn't over just yet. There was still a chance not only for Reiner to save his life, but to protect his love from Zeke's degrading scheme.

 _He has the ranged advantage with his rock throwing..._ Reiner thought as his Titan body put it's fists up defensively in anticipation of a barrage of projectiles from Zeke, _But if I don't let him get away from me, I can tear through that flesh._

"He's up..." Priscilla marveled. Her reddened eyes stopped weeping and stayed fixed on The Armored Titan, "He can still fight!"

"Still have some fight left in you?" The Beast asked with a smile, plunging his hand down to pick up some rubble, "How 'bout that..."

"I'm more than strong enough to take this." Reiner said within his Titan, "But if I doubt myself for even a second, there's no way I'll win. I have to take him down, right here and now. I won't let Priss suffer for me being weak."

The anger and pain that filled his mind at the very thought of Zeke's ultimatum urged him forward. Reiner had never had a more dire or important reason to fight before this moment and he was going to make it count. The Beast crushed the larger chunks of rubble in it's fist unintentionally, which irked him but he just had to grab some more larger pieces again. He was taking his time because he was certain Reiner was no threat at this point. However, Zeke was proven quite wrong when The Armored Titan put it's fists down and started charging at full speed towards him. The Warchief stumbled back up to it's feet and tried to throw what he had, but the smaller projectiles did nothing to The Armored Titan. Just like when he broke through the wall years ago, he lead with his shoulder and collided with astounding force. The Beast was knocked down onto it's back.

The Armored Titan's mouth opened wide and let out a loud screech of fury as climbed on top of the Beast and raised it's fist.

"Reiner, wa-!" The Beast commanded.

But Reiner didn't hesitate. He brought down his punch with such force that it crushed the Beast Titan's skull with ease, narrowly missing the nape where Zeke's body was embedded.

"Look what you've done!" Bertolt shouted, grabbing Priscilla by the arm and yanking her onto her feet and towards him, "This is all your fault!"

"I didn't do anything!" She barked back at him, pulling her arm back and shoving him away, "It's Zeke's fault!"

"Before you showed up everything was fine... but whenever you're around there's always a problem!" Bertolt wailed, "You're doing something to them! To all of us! I don't know what or how, but it's something evil!"

"Evil?!" She shrieked in disbelief.

"You've placed a curse on all of us here! You're some kind of witch, I know it!"

Their argument was interrupted by another battle cry from The Armored Titan. The two looked back over to the fight and saw it raise it's fist up again, ready to smash the body of the Beast even further.

"Reiner, stop!" Bertolt shouted.

But Reiner's rage was untethered at this point. Any part of him that knew killing Zeke was wrong had vanished from his mind, he was consumed with a bloodlust like never before. The Beast's body below him was near motionless, save for a few twitches of it's limbs. Inside it, Zeke was weakened from his external form taking such massive damage to the head and all he could do was try to focus on regenerating, but it wasn't working. Reiner stared right down at the stump of neck that had remained unharmed, clenching his fist tightly and preparing to smash down knowing full well Zeke would be pulverized too.

"Tell him to stop, he'll listen to you!" Bertolt urged Priscilla.

"Why should I?" She sneered.

"If Reiner kills Zeke, he'll get the same punishment that he was promised. He'll be killed and his power passed on. That's exactly what you were trying to avoid, weren't you? So call him off!"

"Urgh..." She grunted. When she thought about it logically, she knew Bertolt was right. Killing Zeke would only result in major trouble for Reiner. She had no choice, despite how much she'd enjoy seeing her love take out Zeke right then and there, so she called out to him, "That's enough Reiner! You've won!"

The Armored Titan heard her loud and clear through it's anger. It lowered it's fist and started to back off. Her words brought him clarity, it was obvious now that him murdering the Warchief would be an offense worthy of the harshest punishment for him. The Titan turned and walked away from the still incapacitated Zeke, proceeding towards the wall before it knelt down to allow him to break out from it safely

Priscilla let out the biggest sigh of relief of her entire life. As she saw him reappear amidst the steam and sinew, but she could tell he looked weak. Reiner used the ODM to launch himself up the wall and back to their camp, and up close his weariness was even more apparent. He still of course had the markings from being in his Titan on his face and his eyes were dull and tired. He breathed heavily out of his mouth which hung open, chest heaving up and down as he did. He stumbled towards the other two and Priscilla ran to him, immediately offering herself to support him in his weakened state.

"Reiner, are you alright?" She asked softly.

"Better than I look... trust me..." He said with half a smile as he leaned on her, he couldn't manage on his own two feet for the moment, "I had to protect you, that's all I could think about after he said..."

"Let's try not think about that anymore..." Priscilla advised, "It's over now, so what he tried to do doesn't matter."

Reiner's exhaustion was quickly catching up with him since Priscilla could feel him resting more and more of his weight on her. Bertolt frantically adjusted his ODM gear to go retrieve Zeke's body from his Titan, but that mattered not one bit to the other two. Priss guided Reiner back to their tent where she carefully helped him lay down, sitting in a way so that he could lay his head on her lap.

Despite telling Reiner they shouldn't talk about it, Zeke's horrific "deal" lingered in her mind. She only just realized that even if Reiner were to have to pass on his power, once he was dead there would be nothing to stop Zeke from freely pursuing her and using her as he saw fit anyway. It was a no win situation for anyone but the Warchief if Reiner was defeated in that battle.

"When I heard him say those things," Reiner began, it was impossible for him not to think about it either, "I felt so angry. Like I never had before in my life. Bertolt had said something about the possibility of Zeke hurting or taking you away from me somehow, but I thought he was just paranoid... And the way he called you a creature."

"He's not even trying to hide that he doesn't see me as a person," Priscilla said, "The same way my father talked about me, just a useful tool."

Silence fell and hung in the air for several minutes, the only thing breaking it being the sound outside the tent of Bertolt returning – presumably with Zeke in tow. If anything truly bad had happened to him surely Bertolt would make it known. The sound drew their attention to where it was coming from, despite only being able to see vague shadows through the tent.

"Were you really going to kill him?" Priscilla asked in a near inaudible whisper. Her eyes shifted back down to the blonde, "If I didn't tell you to stop, would that fight have ended differently?"

Reiner's jaw tensed up and he swallowed hard. It was just like when Bertolt asked him a question in the same vein; the idea boiling down to: where does his loyalty lie? Of course he wouldn't tell Bertolt, although he suspected that withholding an answer lead his fellow Warrior to his own conclusion – silence can speak volumes. But his love deserved a proper answer as opposed to leaving her to assume, even if he was confident she'd come to the right thought.

"Nothing else in the world would have stopped me," He began in a voice just as hushed as hers, "If you stayed silent, I don't think I would have had a clear enough head to hold back."

* * *

It had been hot all day and it hadn't let up even a bit, and the stuffiness of the tents only made it worse, but Reiner had fallen asleep in her lap so she didn't want to move at all. Besides that fact, Priscilla didn't exactly want to venture out and risk running into Bertolt and Zeke. It wasn't something that could be avoided forever, but while the battle was still a fresh event she'd rather not see either of them. Still, the thought of the open air sounded like a great idea since her body was damp with sweat, as was Reiner's. She was more than damp, really. There were beads of sweat dotting her face – and it didn't take long for them to start running down.

Before she had a chance to react, a couple of droplets quickly fell from the tip of her nose and landed right on Reiner's face. She let out a tiny gasp when she noticed him stir and eventually open his eyes.

"Huh...?" He mumbled as he awoke.

"S-Sorry..." Priss apologized

"It's fine I-" He stopped mid sentence and Priscilla notice his nostrils flare a few times as he inhaled – he definitely noticed some kind of smell.

" _Oh god_ ," Priss said, her face turning red, "I-I must smell awful right now."

"No..." Reiner murmured, turning a bit red himself, "You smell... good."

"Wait, what?"

"I don't know what it is, but it's not _just_ the sweat... You always smell nice, something else that's familiar is mixed in too."

Priscilla scrunched up her nose in confusion – if it wasn't just her sweat, what else about her could be providing the oddly appealing scent to him? It didn't take much thought for her to get an idea: he was laying on her lap, very close to a certain body part of hers...

"Uh, well..." She began, "I haven't had a change of clothes in a long time obviously... so my underwear..."

"...Oh... _Oh..._ " Reiner responded having quickly gotten the idea, "Yeah, that's gotta be it."

For the first time in his life, Reiner was fully aroused by a scent – but not just any scent, the very essence exclusive to the female body – to put it bluntly: the scent of pussy, specifically coming from Priss not having any clean panties to change into. It just accumulated over the course of time until it was too present to be ignored. Somehow the fact that she was sweating only increased how arousing it all was, and what was particularly interesting was that the smell down there wasn't exactly the same as it's taste – both were exceptionally appealing though. She had kept appropriately clean otherwise though, in regards to staying fresh after relieving herself, but sweat and pussy were inevitable.

"Must be really good," Priscilla commented with a giggle, "I see that dick getting hard, you can't hide it from me."

They grinned at each other, knowing exactly where this was going... well, no way to tell the specifics of what they were going to do – some things just happen in the moment. They didn't exactly plan out their sex, all they knew is that they wanted some form of erotic contact and they wanted it immediately. Reiner didn't need any suggestion for him to get his pants off and promptly got to it. He lifted his head off his lover's lap to both see what he was doing and allow her to start undressing as well.

"You must be exhausted, my love..." She murmured as she stripped the shirt of his that she had been wearing, tits on full display, "Just lay back and let me suck you off."

Now Priss was just down to her panties and was quickly ready to discard them, but she thought of a better way to use them once she had them off.

"Hey..." She said to Reiner, who looked up at her, "Enjoy."

With that, she tossed her panties straight onto his face. His cock was rock hard and it twitched multiple times once the fabric made contact with his face. He quickly brought his hand up and smothered her worn panties against his face to inhale that special female scent as much as he could.

Priscilla crawled down and grinned at Reiner's monster cock that was right in front of her face and ready for her mouth. She licked her lips, so eager to taste him again. Most of their sexual encounters ended with him cumming in her pussy, so her getting a dose of his cum to swallow wasn't something she had often got to enjoy. The girl was greatly looking forward to a hefty load shooting into her mouth and down her throat to say the least. Reiner peered at her, and he got an eyeful of that delectable view of her pussy from behind – he would love to fuck her, but she was right about him being exhausted, and to be blown wasn't something he'd say no to. Sit back, relax and then...

Her lips made contact and she gave him a hard suck on the head, but all things considered – his weakened will, the sight of her, the potent smell of her – his thick nut shot into her mouth with just the smallest amount of physical stimulation. He heard the sound of her gag and cough, he even noticed her raise her hands up to her mouth to prevent her from any of his cum getting away from her as she coughed from the unexpectedly quick blow. She wasn't prepared to have a mouthful of cum so quickly. Priscilla calmed down and made sure to swallow as much as she could.

"Reiner... I'm not complaining, I take it as a compliment honestly, but I have to ask..." Priss asked, looking over her shoulder to Reiner with his cum on her lips that were curled into a smile, "I thought the Armored Titan was supposed to grant increased endurance?"

"Then if anyone's to blame, it's clearly you getting that kind of... _reaction_ out of me." Reiner replied.

"Hehe I can't help it..." Priss snickered, licking the remnants of his cum off her lips before going on, "Guess that makes me stronger than a Titan!"

She laughed even harder at the notion and Reiner joined in, albeit not as loud as her. Not only was he worn out from his battle but also having been swiftly sucked dry by his lady love.

 _There will come a day where you and I kill every last Titan that walks the earth_

Part of her dream from the other night flashed into her mind and put an immediate stop to Priss's laughter.

 _For that is our purpose_

Any and all levity that she felt had dissipated. A little joke of a comment for some reason hurled her thoughts back to a dream – no, not just a dream but rather a memory buried in her subconscious that left her with an overwhelming feeling of anxiety. She sat up with a blank look on her face, at that point Reiner had noticed her shift in demeanor.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"Yeah... Something is wrong," She admitted, "But I don't know... _why_."

"But all you did was joke about being stronger than a Titan..." A puzzled Reiner said as he sat up to better talk with her, "I don't understand why that would make you feel bad."

"It made me think of the weird dream I had the other night... the night where you woke up and found my standing outside getting some air," She began to explain.

"I remember that night, yeah..."

"I don't think it was really a dream, but some kind of memory that was locked away until now. Part of it was my older brother saying he and I were going to kill all the Titans... for some reason my dumb joke made it pop into my head... and it made me so unsettled."

"Maybe you should talk to Zeke about it?" Reiner suggested.

"I don't want to talk to Zeke about anything!" She snapped, "I know I have to, but I don't want to do it. I don't like him."

"What exactly is the deal with you two anyway?" Reiner asked, growing more concerned.

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't like someone standing up to him," Priscilla said, "But he's not my boss so I don't have to listen to anything he says. And I think it's obvious to everyone by now that he _wants_ me."

"I..." Reiner began, "...I wish I could say you were being ridiculous, but after what he said during the fight..."

"That's what started the whole thing to begin with," Priss continued. She was starting to get teary eyed from the guilt she felt for getting Reiner pulled into the fight, "I called him out on it real hard and that's what pissed him off."

The girl buried her face in her hands. Tiny weeps could be heard, although muffled a bit. She meant every word she said to Zeke and the more she dwelt on that interaction the more resentful she grew towards him for being so petty over a girl. If he just took it out on her instead of involving Reiner then Priss wouldn't feel an ounce bad for not backing down against him. Suddenly she dropped her hands and looked to Reiner.

"Did you know he looked in on us this morning?" She said between sniffles, "He admitted it. There's no way it wasn't obvious what we were doing from outside the tent and he tried to play it off like he didn't know."

"Wait, really?" Reiner asked as his eyes went wide.

"Yes!" She wailed, "He said he just looked in briefly to see if we were still asleep, but for all we know he could have been watching like a real pervert... And now I can't stop thinking about it."

"Shit..." Reiner muttered, feeling awkward as all hell that he had been seen having sex by his boss. He leaned over and pulled Priss in for a hug.

"Before I didn't care all that much if anyone heard us a bit, it's not like we were screaming or anything... but he _saw_ us," She whined into his chest, "And I just know he did it on purpose! Nothing he says will convince me he didn't..."

Reiner held his lady yet couldn't find any words to comfort her, but she didn't need him to say anything – just listening was all she could ask for. Reiner was now more conflicted than he already had been... he felt the desperate urge to just run away with her, but now his boss was involved... and in a way he didn't anticipate. Despite on their first night with her at the camp where Zeke gave her a casual compliment, Reiner didn't honestly believe he thought of her in _that_ way. Now an intense amount of tension had arisen among the Warriors, and there was no way it would let up.

"Bertolt's terrible too... he blames me for that dirty ape being an uncivilized creep... he calls me an evil witch who's cursed you all..." She whimpered weakly as her rage completely sank down into sadness. She then pulled away to look into her lover's eyes, "Is he right? Am I some kind of witch casting evil spells on you all?"

"No, you're not evil and you're not a witch..." Reiner assured her, "And I know you better than anyone, right?"

"Y-Yeah..." She replied meekly, but still accepting what he said as truth. Her voice grew more powerful and certain as she continued, "You're right. I'm not the problem, we're not the problem. _They are._ "

* * *

Zeke winced painfully as his body slowly recovered from the fight, gaining clarity from the haze he was previously in as Bertolt hovered over him nervously. He didn't hear what was going on in the other tent while he was still in his weakened, only semi-lucid state.

"Urgh..." The Warchief groaned, "Reiner... he tried to kill me, didn't he?"

"Y-Yes..." Bertolt responded quietly, "I had to convince that evil woman to make him stop. She wanted to see you die too, but I made her see reason."

"Heh... can't say I blame her really..." Zeke chuckled weakly, but then shifted to a dark tone, "Something needs to be done about her though."

"Should we kill her?!" Bertolt asked, an unhealthy amount of eagerness was in his voice but he was also able to keep his volume down, "She's a demon, possibly worse than the ones on this island."

"No... that is out of the question..." Zeke replied, "It's very important that she lives..."

"Why won't you tell us why? Why keep us in the dark?!" Bertolt whined childishly.

"I don't answer to you," Zeke murmured dangerously, "You don't need to know anything unless I say you do. You need to remember who's in charge."

"I-I'm sorry..." Bertolt said, "She's just so... enraging..."

"I know," Zeke agreed, "Her disobedience frustrates me, I want to grab her and tell her to shut her mouth, but at the same time I..." his voice trailed off.

"You what...?" Bertolt pressed. Zeke shot him a glare.

"That's not something you need to know," Zeke dismissed, immediately realizing he said too much, "Just try to control your wrath. Avoid her as much as you realistically can. Leave dealing with Miss Ziegler to me."


	17. Ch XIII Part I: Lost In A Man's World

**A/N: hey bros what about a high school AU lol? Also this chapter just kept getting longer and longer as things went along so I'm splitting it, didn't help that this last month was very busy on top of that. The second part will probably be shorter than this one, but it's taking so long to finish that I don't want to wait it all out. So with what I have written of the second part of this chapter done so far I'm optimistic it won't take as long to get that up next.**

 **Chapter XIII Part I: Lost In A Man's World**

"She can't stay here."

Reiner and Priscilla balked at Zeke's statement. Once he had recovered, Zeke had called for everyone to convene for an important meeting – and he wasted no time getting straight to the point.

"Can't stay here?" Reiner asked in disbelief, "Where is she supposed to go?"

"I'll arrange for Pieck to take her back to her old city. She can wait there and we'll pick her up on our way back to port," Zeke explained tiredly, "I'm sure if she could direct you how to get there she can do the same for Pieck."

"Are you kidding me?!" Priscilla shrieked. Her shock left her response a bit more delayed than Reiner's.

"I assure you I am entirely serious," Zeke replied, still with his flat affect, "You being here has been a bit of a problem."

"Oh yeah _I'm_ the problem..." She sneered back at him. Her hands began to ball into fists at her sides as her ever-present disdain for him started heading for fury.

"Distraction may be a better word. Which is still a problem. So let me break it down for you: If we remove you, the distraction is gone," Zeke went on as he scratched his ear, "You also have to consider he fact that you're incredibly vulnerable and would make an easy target for the Scouts. They'll use you to manipulate Reiner, they wouldn't hesitate to kill you if it suited them. This is our last chance to take back the Founding Titan and I can't allow _anything_ to interfere with that."

"He has a point..." Reiner agreed, "I didn't even think about what we'd do with you when the Scouts got here."

Reiner glanced over to Priscilla, who was staring at the ground with her fists clenched tightly still. She didn't want to admit it but they both were right.

"You're a high value target, higher value than the Scouts know, so we can't have you dying on us here when you can be kept perfectly safe elsewhere..."

"What am I going to eat?!" She added as she snapped her head back up to look at him, thinking it was a decent 'gotcha' moment.

"There are supplies to spare that Pieck is equipped with that should last a few days, I highly doubt we'll be waiting around here any longer than that."

"Well don't you just have an answer for everything now?" Priscilla grumbled bitterly, "So answer me this, how exactly am I a distraction?"

"I think what you've done to Reiner is obvious," Zeke stated flatly, "And Bertolt, he's rather afraid of you and his dislike for you clouds his thoughts."

Bertolt's face went pale with embarrassment that Zeke actually used the term "afraid" – but it was true as horribly emasculating as it was for Bertolt. Priscilla didn't get all the answers she desired though and locked her eyes that blazed with anger to Zeke's.

"... _And?_ "

"And what?"

"What about you? Why won't you say _your_ issue with me?" Priss prodded with venom. She kept her unsettling stare locked on Zeke, who's gaze back at her was dull, "I could always take a shot at guessing out loud. Right in front of your comrades."

"That's not necessary," Zeke responded sternly, "We've already established enough why it's best to separate you from us for a short time, I don't need to go into anymore details."

Priss was ready to fire off her harsh accusations that she had previously flung at him, but she felt a hand on a shoulder – Reiner's of course, accompanied by him whispering a "don't" in her ear – he could read exactly what she wanted to do and knew that it was best to put a stop to her saying such things before she started trouble again. For his sake, Priss backed down from going off on Zeke regarding what kind of _distraction_ or _problem_ she was to him personally.

"...Fine. You're right..." She surrendered after a strained silence.

"So, that's it then," Zeke said, smiling faintly as he felt quite satisfied with himself, "We Warriors can focus on our mission and you can focus on... reading more of those books."

"Hm?" Priss hummed.

"I'm sure there's still much more for you to relay to me... and you won't have much to do in an abandoned city all by yourself, you might as well be productive with your time. Right?" Zeke elaborated.

"Eh..." An unenthusiastic Priscilla grunted, "Whatever. Sure. Won't have anything better to do."

"See how much easier things are when you behave like a proper young lady?" Zeke said in a tone that was _just_ patronizing enough to be picked up on by her, "Well, not even a lady, just a proper civilized person."

"I don't need remarks about being a proper person from a literal dirty ape who tried to kill my Reiner!" She spat. Just one snide comment from him was all it took to trigger her, and it's not like Zeke wasn't aware that what he said would provoke her.

"A dirty ape, am I?" Zeke echoed her. He suddenly felt his victory over her slipping away. Priscilla could only restrain herself so much when he started saying off color things, especially as blatantly as he did just now. She knew it was his intention to demean her in his smugness for getting her to submit to his demand.

"Yes!" She screamed childishly with wild eyes, "An ugly, dirty, smelly, disgusting ape!"

Reiner gripped her shoulder a bit tighter as he felt the panic set in that Priss would piss Zeke off enough to trigger him again in some brutal way. The shifter could see the frustration in Zeke's eyes behind his glasses, it was subtle as he was trying not to show signs of the girl getting to him, but it was there. The Warchief just wanted to shut her up in any way he could, but it had become clear by now that just scolding prompted Priscilla to run her mouth even more. Even when he got ever so slightly physical with her by grabbing her face she managed to keep up her infuriating behavior by spitting in his mouth – which was an act that Zeke did find disgusting, but in a way it was thrilling too, like he got to have a taste of her – and a taste of her is something he otherwise never would have gotten. Her attempt to fight back with such a gross cheap move honestly roused an equal amount of rage and excitement in him. He'd never admit that he enjoyed something like that though. He wanted to avoid revealing his attraction at all, but especially something as weird as spit in his mouth.

It _did_ seem like it was witchcraft with the way she titillated the senses to the insane degree that she did. Zeke recalled the way her skin felt under his fingertips for just that brief moment, it was soft – even softer than it looked – while feeling like some powerful current was flowing just beneath it's surface which was unlike anything he had felt on the skin of anyone else. Her natural scent was alluring in a way he couldn't describe and of course she was exceptionally pleasing to look at, there was no question about that. It made him wonder if Reiner suffered this same state of being spellbound or perhaps if him being only half Eldian kept him from being what Zeke could only describe as being cursed with sinful desire. But then what about Bertolt? He had expressed no attraction to her at all, just fear, wrath and an urge to get rid of her by any means necessary – including going as far as murdering her.

While the inconsistency between the way Zeke felt compared to the others was puzzling – a unifying factor was there: Priscilla Ziegler was acting as a force, unintentionally perhaps, to tear the men apart. Could she have some sinister end game to do exactly that? To cause them all to fall? What sense would that make though?

...Then again, it all could just be a result of her being an attractive but also annoying girl that provoked their different and strong responses to her because she's just a highly polarizing person. And nothing more than that. At this point, Zeke couldn't place a safe bet on any possibility. He wanted and needed to know more about her and what sort of evils she could possibly be harboring.

"Warchief Zeke?" Reiner spoke up. Zeke blinked several times, only just realizing he had fallen into a deep trance as he pondered their current situation, "What are you thinking?"

"It's nothing relevant," Zeke dismissed, "I need some more rest so I'll be returning to my tent. I'd appreciate if none of you disturbed me unless it's _direly_ important."

Zeke returned to his tent without another word. Bertolt stood awkwardly across from the other two, unable to make eye contact. He unfortunately had nowhere to really go – with Zeke demanding undisturbed rest for an undetermined amount of time and the other two able to hide away in their tent, Bertolt was left out in the cold. Not only was there going to be an insufficient amount of room in Reiner's tent with two occupants, but his tension with them is what made it the most undesirable to be in there.

Reiner gave Priss a soft nudge with his elbow to nab her attention, following with a slight nod of his head in the direction of their tent. She didn't need any more of a suggestion than that, so the two of them headed back to it, thus leaving Bertolt by himself.

Priscilla's mind had started to dwell on the very real idea that she could be the problem here at camp, just like she said the other day in Hyperia in her devastated ramblings. Her deep resentment and dislike for Zeke kept her from fully embracing and accepting the idea though, despite everything he said having been true. She selfishly wanted to blame him and Bertolt, not herself.

"At least this way you won't be in any danger," Reiner sighed as they laid down and got comfortable together, "I know it's shitty, but we don't have much choice."

"I know, I know..." She mumbled.

"But just think..." Reiner spoke, pulling her in close, "It won't be much longer before we can leave this island. We'll be on our way home."

"Heh, you're right," Priscilla said with a smile. She suddenly realized she never really asked about it so she curiously added, "So what's home like anyway?"

"Uh," Reiner choked, "I'll be honest, it's... not great there."

"...What do you mean?"

It wasn't something he looked forward to her either finding out or him telling her ahead of time, but it was for the best that he prepared her for the life she was signing up for by being with him.

"Eldians have to live in sectioned off zones separated from actual Marleyans." Reiner admitted, "There's a wall that separates us from the rest of Marleyan society."

"A... walled city?" Priss asked. She tried her best to disguise the disappointment in her voice, but it was impossible to completely obscure it.

"Yeah..." Reiner said, his tone growing sad, "I guess it was pretty wrong of me to say I'll free you. If you want to be together, that's where I have to be. As long as I wear an armband identifying me as Eldian I can leave the Internment Zone for a period of time, but I can't live outside of it. No Eldians can."

Priscilla's expression fell with this revelation of what her new home would be like. Reiner could tell this had disappointed her – he had hyped up the promise of a a life without barricades to her in a moment of foolishness. He was serious about _wanting_ to give that life to her and he couldn't help but promise it due to his love for her. That's what he wanted more than anything. He wanted to give her the best life a person could live, but in the end he would be bringing her to a place where she would be doomed to live like a caged animal... the very existence he wanted to avoid for her. His own selfishness of wanting her forever clouded the fact that he would be bringing her back to a place that would steal freedom from her.

"But... if you're there, what does it matter?" Priss whispered to him,"If that's where you are, it wouldn't make sense for me to be anywhere else."

"Eh?" Reiner said.

"The real thing you're freeing me from are those who want to use me and cage me in _that_ sense, it was never about literal walls..." Priss clarified as her disappointment lifted, "Sure, I'm sick as hell of walls, but will it really be so terrible if we have each other?"

"And here I thought you'd be mad at me for not telling you sooner," Reiner smiled warmly as he felt relief wash over him, "And maybe since you're non-Eldian you can more easily cross in and out of the Internment zone. I wouldn't know how that works, I've never heard of a non-Eldian choosing to live within the Internment Zone..."

"What are they gonna do? Drag me around by my hair kicking and screaming?" Priss joked to lighten up the mood a bit. It seemed to work since she felt the rumble of a chuckle in Reiner's chest.

"I just hope nobody gives you trouble," He murmured after letting out his quiet laugh.

"If I'm to believe what your Warchief says about me, I'm the one who will be making trouble for everyone else wherever I go," She groaned as she rolled her eyes at the thought of Zeke. Reiner frowned and pulled her even closer.

"Don't listen to him about that," Reiner said, "You're not doing anything wrong. But he is right about you not being safe here once the Scouts arrive. I have to do whatever I can to protect you. I hate to think about you all alone... but if that's what it takes to keep you safe then it has to be done. If there was a way I could keep you close by without your life being in danger then I would do anything to keep you here."

"Just make sure you take good care of yourself while I'm gone," Priscilla said as she looked into his golden eyes lovingly, "Don't you dare die on me, Reiner."

"I promise I'll come back to you," He replied, then placed a tender kiss on her forehead, "If I can take down our strongest Warrior in a duel, the Scouts will be no match for me."

"That smelly ape is really considered the strongest of you all?" Priscilla asked doubtfully, "I don't buy it for a second."

"Well... it's not just his raw fighting skill that makes him powerful. He has a certain ability none of the other Warriors have," Reiner began, "Eldians injected with his spinal fluid... they transform into titans when he screams and then he can command those pure titans. Those that he transforms like that can even move at night as long as the moon is out."

"He said he wanted to try and transform me," Priss responded, reminded of one of their first conversations together, "So he'd inject me with his spinal fluid, scream in my face and see what happens?"

"What could it possibly do to you now that we know for sure you're not an Eldian?" Reiner wondered, "Could there be something else that would happen?"

"Are you saying we should let him actually do it?"

"No, of course not," Reiner assured her with another kiss on the forehead, "Sorry, just wondering out loud. You can count on me to do everything I can to protect you from whatever his... uh, 'wild curiosities' include. I won't let him hurt you."

"I love you so much Reiner..." Priss said, almost sounding like she was about to cry from hearing Reiner's steadfast promise to keep her safe from the questionable intentions of his boss, "I really do. More than anything. You mean so much to me and I don't know what I would do or where I would be without you."

"I love you too Priss," He replied, this time going for a quick kiss on her lips, "You are my world and I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy. I swear it."

* * *

The lovers had gone silent and were just laying together in quiet relaxation. There was no telling how much longer Priss would have with Reiner until her temporary exile from the group was put into effect – it all seemed to hinge on whatever that "Pieck" thing was that Zeke mentioned shows up.

"So what the hell is a 'Pieck' anyway?" Priscilla asked, breaking the silence that had developed.

"Oh, Pieck? She's another Warrior," Reiner explained, "She holds the Cart Titan."

"...Cart Titan...?" Priscilla repeated slowly.

"It walks on all fours so it makes for a good scouting and utility unit, like transporting supplies and other things," He went on, "Definitely not anything like the Shifters you've seen before."

"I see..." Priscilla responded.

"I imagine she'll return sometime later today... She's been out scouting since before you got to us. It only makes sense she'll come back soon."

"Damn..." She sighed, "Not much time left... I know Zeke said we wouldn't be separated for long, but any time away from you is just torture."

"I know..." He agreed, "And I'd like to make you feel good just one more time before you have to leave..."

"Reiner, just being with you is what makes me feel good," Priscilla said with a warm smile, "But I see what you're getting at..."

The man's eyes sparkled with a devilish desire. Reiner wanted to get his mouth on her to start with. As usual all she was wearing one of his shirts which meant all he had to do to expose her ample breasts was push it up. As he expected, her nipples were nice and hard already – he was damn near convinced they always were at this point, but that was just a silly thought. It just didn't take them long once any sort of sexual suggestion had been made for them to harden, much like his cock.

Laying down next to her on his side, Reiner slid under one of her arms so that she could wrap it around him and give him full access to her tits. She always welcomes the feeling of his mouth on them... and her pussy... and his cock in her pussy and mouth. His lips found their way to the nipple of her right breast and began to suck. Priscilla let out a long but soft moan as Reiner sucked on her. The soft suckling was so calming and pleasant, it felt like it was just what the situation called for. Something soothing as opposed to fast and rough before she left. Even though it was slow and light, she still felt herself getting hot.

Priscilla closed her eyes and hummed softly while Reiner continued his gentle work with his mouth. The quiet hums brought him a sense of serenity too, not calm enough to stop his cock from getting hard due to the inherent erotic nature of giving her a nipple a good, although soft and tender, sucking on. Reiner took his arm and slid it across her stomach and held her around the waist. Priss grinned as she felt his strong and warm hand hold onto her, he wanted to keep her close – to not let her go. This would be the last time they could be intimate in any way until the Warriors finished carrying out their mission.

Her right hand rested on his head where she stroked his hair, still humming a random melody she made up as she went along. As he continued his steady pace, Reiner threw in swift and stronger suck on her. The unexpected change of pace caused Priscilla to gasp and then giggle quietly, totally throwing her off her humming rhythm, but Reiner picking things up didn't bother her one bit. Reiner returned to his former steadier method where his touch was light. While she played with his hair, Priscilla leaned in close and kissed him on the head sweetly – which Reiner mimicked by repeatedly kissing her on and around her sensitive nipple.

"Mmm..." She moaned and continued to plant kisses on him too.

After a while of the gentle suckling, Reiner wanted to give attention to both of her tits. He brought his hand up from holding her waist, licked his fingers and then started to play with her other nipple while he continued to give the one he was closest to attention with his mouth. Priscilla moaned again, just a bit louder than the previous one. At this point the idea of the others hearing wasn't a concern in their mind. It was obvious what they were up to when they were in that tent by now, so why would it matter if Zeke and Bertolt heard them?

With the erotic sensation doubled, Priscilla's hand clutched Reiner harder. In turn, this subconsciously urged him to pick things up. He slowly increased the intensity of his sucking, switching his focus back and forth between the nipple and taking as much of her breast into his mouth that he could. He matched these actions with his hand on the other tit: when he was focused on the nipple, his fingers toyed with her other one and when he was going for a mouthful, he switched to fondling and massaging her breast.

Now her moaning was near constant with him playing with both of her breasts, and feeling his hard cock pressed against her was even more arousing. She would be happy to assist him with that when he finished playing with her body, and she wanted him to continue to do that as he pleased.

Reiner's sucking intensified, both his mouth, tongue and fingers were completely focused on her nipples now. He had begun moaning too, throwing Priscilla into a state she had never felt before just from her tits being played with. As he continued to passionately suck and tweak, a sudden rush came over her – with a pleased yelp her muscles quickly tightened and the unmistakable sensation of an orgasm rushed through her body. It felt different from her other forms of being made to cum, but there was no doubt about it, she just experienced a nipple orgasm.

Reiner pulled away to look up at her curiously.

"Did you just...?"

"Yeah..."

"From me just...?"

" _Yeaaaaah..._ " She giggled.

"Well... I didn't know that could happen..." He said sheepishly.

"Me neither," She said with a smirk, "But now we need to worry about what to do with you... I can't just leave you hanging."

Reiner sat up but kept his eyes on her. It could have been the fact that she just climaxed but something about her overall demeanor seemed tired, like she could really use a good nap more than anything. That reason aside, Reiner could easily believe that all the stress from the near constant tension and fighting in the camp was catching up and hitting her hard.

"Why don't you just relax and let me handle that?" He offered.

"Oh, I get the idea..." She responded, still with that smirk on her face despite the growing weariness in her.

Reiner shifted around to remove his pants to reveal his already raging hardon while Priss fully pulled off and tossed aside his shirt to hopefully avoid getting any cum on it, now leaving her completely naked. He tried to spit in his hand but his mouth was strangely dry at the moment, so Reiner would have to go without some lubrication. It wasn't the worst thing in the world, but some wetness definitely made things smoother when it came to jerking off. Priss took notice and sat up.

"Need me?" She asked. Reiner had already begun lightly stroking himself but he would be more than happy to have her assist him if she was offering.

The whole point of him masturbating onto Priscilla was so that she didn't have to do any work, yet here she was prepared to slobber on his cock for a bit just to get him slick for the task – something that really wasn't even necessary. As she lowered her head Reiner pulled his hand back to allow her to wrap hers around to keep his cock firmly in place while she gave it a good sucking. The purpose was to just get it wet for him, but the activities could very well evolve into something other than him just jacking off onto her.

With the established plan in mind, Priss went straight to deep throating him. Triggering her gag reflex was the quickest way to make her salivate in excess, which made literally choking on Reiner's cock the best way to move forward. She pulled back a bit to breathe and recover for just a moment, without taking him out of her mouth completely, before she forced his dick as far into her mouth as she could once more. It didn't take long for her spit to really start accumulating, dripping from her mouth wherever the tiniest amount of space was present for it to escape from..

Reiner had been moaning quietly as Priscilla pleasured him with her mouth. There was no finesse to it, no tongue flicks or anything resembling flair – she was just giving him the sloppiest blow job possible to slobber all over him. His large cock lead her to cough and sputter when she was taking it as deep as physically possible, but she was a champion who wouldn't even for a second take her mouth off it _completely_ and rob him of the sweet warm wetness she provided him... until she chose to speak.

"Ahh..." She inhaled deeply as she pulled away from him, "How's that?"

The two of them locked eyes and silence fell for just a moment. No words needed be spoken – the same idea was brewing in both of their minds and soon enough Priss was on her back again while Reiner got on top of her between her long legs. He ran his hands up her abdomen and over her breasts, taking in the feeling of her silky smooth skin beneath them. Reiner stared down at her with longing as he caressed her.

"Just one last time before you go," He whispered. His weary lover responded with a quiet 'mhm' and a nod.

Even in her tired state Priscilla still shivered with anticipation. Reiner wasted no time with entering her, which gave him his own shiver of delight. He slowly pushed inside of her, relishing in the warmth of her pussy enveloping his dick as he did so. The limited amount of room in the tent made wrapping her legs around him the best choice as he moved in so they could be face to face and as close to each other as possible.

This was not to be a hard or fast deal, it was more like the first night they had together at camp when things were slower and on the sensual side. As he thrust in and out of her, Reiner raised one of his hands to her face where he traced her lips with his fingers. He had noticed she does this cute thing sometimes where her mouth hangs slightly open, enough so for the top row of her teeth to show a tiny tiny bit. Not only was it cute but pretty sexy as well – everything about those pouty and plump lips was. As he was brushing across her lips, Priscilla gently raised her hand up to his. She took his hand and guided two of his fingers into her mouth.

Priscilla sucking on his fingers drew a moan out of him as he fucked her. She hummed and she sucked of them, sometimes pulling them from her mouth to just lick them before returning to sucking on them. Her noises alternated between her soft hums and moans – Reiner really didn't expect something like having his fingers sucked on to be so arousing, but he was learning lots of new things that night it seemed. First nipple orgasms being possible, and now the joys of having his fingers sucked on by her.

However, he took his hand back from her so that he could place both of his on the side of her face. They both looked into the other's eyes as he slowly made love to her.

"I love you, Priscilla _Braun_." He breathed.

"I love you too, Reiner!" She exclaimed, breathless from merely thinking about how much she loved him and how he did just as much in return. He swore he could see tears forming in her eyes, ones of joy. The glittering emeralds were full of such love and the desire to never be apart from him. It was absolutely true that her face betrays her every thought, but in this moment that wasn't a bad thing.

Reiner leaned in close, still holding onto her face, and kissed her tenderly. The kiss remained unbroken as he continued the sensual love making. The kisses were just as slow as the fuck, it only seemed right to keep a consistent pace with everything going on. Their locked lips only parted when they needed to take a breather. Being on right top of her allowed him to feel her chest expanding against his as she deeply inhaled once she got to breathe again. The slow work he was doing had her in a state of letting out elongated low moans, the same going for him.

Priscilla was positive that she'd get another orgasm from this, between the hitting of her g-spot and his body on top of hers in such a way that it was rubbing against her already sensitive clit it was _guaranteed_ to happen for her. But she wanted Reiner to get his, she already got off, it was more important to her that he gets off as opposed to scoring another one for herself. The two went back to slow but deeply passionate kissing once more, moaning into each others mouths loudly. Her hands were holding his face now too. She really did feel like weeping over how much she loved him and how perfect he was, but Priscilla knew that would make this moment not all that sexy anymore.

She decided to add in a little extra fun to this fuck to keep her mind off of the raw emotions of the non sexual variety she was experiencing – every time Reiner pushed deep into her, she would squeeze her pussy tightly around his cock and then relax her muscles when he pulled back. When she started her rhythmic tensing and releasing it caused Reiner to throw back his head and moan even louder.

"If you keep doing that... I'm gonna cum sooner than I planned..." He grunted.

"Ohhh but I like driving you over the edge like that..." She responded playfully through her heavy breathing.

With that said, she squeezed his cock as hard as she deliberately could. The natural spasms of her pussy varied since they were beyond her control, but when doing it on purpose she could squeeze him at slightly different levels of tightness depending on her focus. That pussy clamping down on him when she was already so tight to begin with made it feel like she was actively trying to suck the cum out of him and it was difficult for him to resist unloading into her when Priscilla was driving him so crazy. He would be able to keep himself from finishing as long as he stayed at his slow pace for now, even if she did keep on trying to coax the cum from him on purpose.

Their bodies remained pressed as close together as possible as they made love. His buff pecs were in a very comfortable position being cushioned by her wonderful breasts. Being on top of her like that had their hearts as close together as they possibly could be – the union of their hearts, bodies and minds to form the perfect circle of their love, a circle that would remain unbroken no matter what. Their breathing was perfectly in time with each other's and their eyes met once more. Reiner could so clearly see the vulnerability in her eyes that she rarely showed to anyone else, if _ever_. What they were right now was between them and only them. One of his hands made it's way to her face again where he cupped her cheek while both of hers went to his head where she dug her fingers into his hair. They continued to stare at each other for just a moment before before they went back to sucking on each others faces in the sloppiest way imaginable.

The intensity of the kissing didn't do a whole lot to muffle their moans, especially as Priscilla was approaching another climax. No matter the pace of the sex, he was always hitting her g-spot with his perfectly sculpted monster cock. The grinding of his pelvis against her clit was helping too, but the steadiness of it all had her orgasm building at a slower pace than if things were more intense. The same went for Reiner, he knew his climax was well on it's way, but not hurdling towards him like it tended to in the past when things were at a more rapid pace. No.. they had to make the most of this. They had to make the most of every moment, but this instance felt pressing since she was being forced away from him for who knows how long. There were only so many supplies Pieck could leave her with, but Reiner had to push that worry from his mind right now. It wasn't exactly hard when he was having sex with the woman he loved – it was hard to mentally deviate from that moment at all and even when he did, he was snapped back to where he needed to be swiftly.

She was his focus, she centered him – just like he did for her. The one to talk Reiner down from further brutalizing Zeke in their duel was Priscilla, and the one to calm Priscilla's hysterics in Hyperia was Reiner. If something was wrong, they could count on the other to make it right.

Priscilla started to shudder as she sensed the undeniable sensation of orgasm building in her. She had to break the kiss they were locked into so she could pant heavily. Without missing a beat, Reiner shifted his attention to kissing her neck while her head fell back. That slow, slow fuck made the approach of her orgasm agonizing, and every time he slide his perfectly sized and shaped cock in she felt her g-spot send another wave through her signaling what was soon to come. As softly as he was fucking her, somehow he had that just right shape to be hitting her in that just right spot on top of everything else he was doing to her. Perfect puzzle pieces, you could say.

Priscilla could only do much to will her need to cum away with pure willpower, in fact she couldn't do anything at all to deny her body the response that it was being driven towards. Her hands slid down from his head to his back where she gripped him tightly as she felt it coming – Reiner kept kissing her neck and supplying the same speed of love making he had been this whole time. Her teeth clenched and her whole body went tense, followed by a burst of pleasure that shook her to the core as she let out a loud moan, just barely coherently slurring Reiner's name into it.

Reiner brought his face back to hers and started to kiss her again – she couldn't stop whispering his name repeatedly into his mouth as they made out. With one hand still digging into his back, her other returned to his face that she stroked with care. Her second orgasm of the evening was wearing off, but the stimulation was not letting up – she could already feel a third building in her and she was wondering just how much her tired body could handle at this point, but by no means was she going to say no to Reiner making her cum a third time. This time she felt it approaching quicker than the last, so much so that her body hadn't even recovered yet from the one she just had.

Her head tilted back again, breaking their kiss, and she began whimpering in that way she did when she could barely stand the pleasure she was being given.

"Oh Reiner don't stop..." She pleaded as she clung to him tightly, "I'm gonna cum again..."

Just as requested of him, Reiner didn't stop. He kissed along her collarbone and her shoulders, giving those a light nibble too. Her gasps and whimpers quickened until she finally let out a moan even louder than before, also with his name woven into it so the entire world knew who the one she loved was.

Priscilla's body trembled from all the orgasms in close succession that had rocked her – at this point she was beyond exhausted and could do little more than pant as Reiner kept tenderly fucking her. Her mind was in a haze of sleepiness and seeing stars from all the cumming she did, but she was alert enough to hear Reiner utter the precious words that he too was cumming after he had continued to make love to her for a few more minutes. He pushed in all the way as he unloaded into her, a nut that was as fat and hot as ever, while he kissed her.

The two of them exhaled deeply, the both of them were certainly feeling the fatigue set in at this point. There was only one thing to do at that point, and that was to nap. They didn't bother to get dressed, they just flopped down next to each other and pulled a blanket over them. Priss cuddled up close next to Reiner, laying her head against his chest to listen to his heartbeat to help lull her to sleep.

"Priss?" Reiner asked in a tired voice. He heard her hum curiously below him in response, "Are you... really happy?"


	18. Chapter XIII Part II: Animals

**Chapter XIII Part II: Animals**

 _Heaven is a place on earth with you_

 _They say that the world was built for two  
Only worth living if somebody is loving you_

"Priss?" Reiner asked in a tired voice. He heard her hum curiously below him in response, "Are you... really happy?"

"What kind of question is that, Reiner?" She looked up at him with a tired but still genuine smile, "Of course I am."

"I just get so scared for you... What's going to happen to you when I-"

Priss quickly pressed one of her fingers to his lips before he could go on. She knew well what he was about to say and she was certain nothing productive or positive could come from it for either of them to address it at the moment.

"Don't think about that right now..." She whispered. She started to run her finger along his bottom lip, her eyes following it as it went, "I know we have to eventually but... let's take this time to enjoy these moments we have right here... and now."

"You're right," He agreed, giving her finger a kiss as she slowly ran it along before she reluctantly pulled it away and he added "...Sorry, I feel like an idiot for bringing that up now."

"You're not an idiot... I know it must be a constant worry on your mind, and it _is_ something important we have to think about eventually..." She sweetly assured him as she just barely held back a yawn, "So I can't blame you... but for now... mmm..."

Reiner sighed deeply and a look of anguish appeared on his face. He held onto her tightly, trying to keep the words he so wanted to say within him. He knew there was no point in saying what was thinking in that moment, but it came to a point where he couldn't help himself and he could hold it back no longer. He pulled her closer to him as the rising emotions in him spilled over.

"I just wish things were different, but if I never took the Armor, I never would have come here and met you.. But I also wouldn't have destroyed your orphanage in the attack either... I love you and I want you to live the best life you possibly can... And part of me wonders... if being with me _is_ the best choice for you. I don't want to let you go, but the idea of leaving you once my term is up... I can't stand to think about it. I've seen you hurt so much already and to know that I'm going to just add to that... it's unbearable... I've always thought you deserved better than me, but I would never force you away. I couldn't. I can't live without you, but deep in my soul I wish... for your own good... that you _could_ live without me."

By the time he reached the end of his monologue his voice was breaking, but there was no response from Priss. In fact, she had been silent all throughout it and didn't even make any sort of movement. He immediately felt stupid, "...I'm sorry. I'll never leave your side as long as you want me by yours."

Still silence. Reiner worried he had made a critical error with what he said, but it soon became apparent what happened: Priss fell asleep, very suddenly at that. He had no idea how long she'd been out for but he was immensely relieved that what he said went unheard. It was good to get the anxieties off his chest, but they would undoubtedly creep back up over time and one day they would have to face them together. Each time she told him she loved him brought the painful reminder that one day he'd never get to hear her saying those words to him again, and that he'd never get to smile back at her warmly, lift her into the air and profess his love right back to her. Reiner suddenly wanted their relationship to have "officially" started before it did. They were pretty much dating in every way but name only before that night at the lake. The flirtation and innocent physical affection was there along with the obvious care they had for each other for years.

He just wanted to have all time he could with her and Reiner felt like so much had been wasted for so long. Reiner was sure as hell happy they eventually did _really_ get together, despite all the unique struggles that came with it for both of them – and ones that would come in the future – all that he knew that Priss having his heart is what made her happy... and what he wanted – all he ever wanted to do – was make her happy. So that meant moving forward together because as long as they had each other, everything would be alright.

He journeyed through his memories of their entire relationship until he found himself at their very first kiss. Back when they were children and he brought her clothes to wear since she had nothing but a raggedy dress, not even a pair of shoes. At that point they'd already established a bit of a friendship and showed they had the empathy to care for one another in basic ways... like how she cleaned up his bloody nose after he took the heat off her from those bullies. But as he thought about it, he remembered that this was around when their first kiss occurred.

" _The hero deserves a kiss from the princess, don'tcha think?" She grinned, "At least, that's how I think the fairy tales go."_

It wasn't one of those "for real" kisses on the lips, just his cheek, but to him it was very much their first whether it fit the typical definition of a first kiss or not. It was an innocent act of affection one would expect from a child, but from that moment on is when they had woven each other into their hearts for good. Their feelings wouldn't do more than boil under the surface, unbearably so at times, for years to follow... but here they were now. Reiner leaned down a bit to give her a kiss on the forehead and then closed his eyes, he didn't expect he'd fall asleep like Priss did but he chose to just be at rest with her regardless. He had no idea how long it would be until they got to lay together like this again... or even when they're get to so much as see each other again.

There was also the very real worry in his mind of whether he'd even survive this mission. Dwelling on this left him with a knot in his stomach – if he were just a Warrior fighting for his nation, then he would give his life if he absolutely had to if there were no other choice... but now with this sweet lady in his arms, failure was not an option for him – he had to make sure he came back to her no matter what it took.

–

"Hmph..." The weary shifter grunted as he laid flat on his back in his tent. Zeke could hear what had been going on in the other – it was impossible to ignore at this point. It had been at least twenty five minutes of the _audible_ erotic activity, but things had finally quieted down.

On top of hearing the lewd noises nearby, his mind was fixed on the direct interactions from before as well. He could vividly visualize the reluctant and uncomfortable posture of Priscilla as he issued his command to her – he could still see her jaw tensed up and her fists clenched as she forced herself not to give into her usual disobedient urges. It felt like such a fantastic win for him, even if it was objectively minor, for her to finally submit to him in some way. To control her actions. He was right and she couldn't dispute it. It may have only been a verbal submission to a logical request, but the fact that he _finally_ got her to bend to his will in any form at all was _thrilling_ to him. Zeke grinned weakly, the pleasure he felt for triumphing over her was overwhelming.

He wanted to continue to exert dominance over her and have her under his thumb to whatever he demanded of her, but this small victory would have to do for now. After the annoyance she had consistently been to him, just this alone pleased him enough.

At this point he felt rejuvenated enough to face the world again, and with the fucking in the text next to his having come to an end it would be much easier to deal with being out in the open. However there was just one problem... while the fact that those two had stopped having sex and that in itself was a relief, he was left with a feeling of lingering frustration – a stifling one of the sexual variety, something that would definitely not allow him to walk freely out in the open. The urge to masturbate was strong with the strange but potent attraction he had undeniably developed to that girl. Not only had Zeke _heard_ those two fucking, but he had previously seen a brief glimpse of it too – something he wouldn't soon forget. The sights and sounds of it, even when they were just a memory, caused him to ache... but to him if he relieved himself of the sexual frustration with his hand, that would be a victory for her. Priscilla wouldn't know about it, yet in his mind she would have triumphed yet again over him – but if she didn't know about it... would it be so bad?

–

About an hour had gone by before Zeke finally emerged from his tent after initially retreating to it. He had finally reached a fairly collected state, and part of that came from the relief he gave himself, as if all he needed to do was get the poison she infected him with out of his system. Unfortunately, he didn't have the foresight to remove his shirt beforehand and since he was laying down on his back as he did it, Zeke ended up with a blatantly obvious stain on what he was wearing. He thought it would be best to just go without a shirt for now, he wasn't about to be walking around with his cum stained shirt on for the world to see. It wouldn't be the first time he went shirtless around camp anyway, in fact he seemed to take off his shirt almost every time he shifts into his Titan. Nobody questioned this habit of his though, so it really benefited him at that moment – plus he had the decency to put his coat on so he wasn't _totally_ topless.

Bertolt was tending to the campfire where he was brewing some more coffee in anticipation for the group to inevitably convene again. Zeke's eyes fell on the other tent – things were quiet, in fact the only thing that could be heard was the crackling of the fire. Bertolt took notice of his gaze.

"I think they're sleeping," He said meekly.

Zeke didn't look away from the tent when Bertolt spoke, "Sleeping?" He echoed in a low and annoyed tone.

The Warchief wouldn't stand for that. Pieck could return at any moment and he wanted to make sure Priscilla was prepared to go. He couldn't allow any lollygagging, if only for his own sanity. He had to get her away from him and it had to be soon. Zeke approached their tent but had no plans to actually look inside unless he felt it was absolutely necessary based on his experience with doing that last time.

Zeke cleared his throat loudly and followed it up with a firm, "Reiner, out."

Light shuffling was heard within and some seconds later Reiner parted the fabric of the tent and poked just his head out.

"Sir?" He responded rather softly.

"I don't recall giving you permission to jack off with your girlfriend," Said Zeke sternly.

Bertolt swiftly turned to face Zeke and Reiner's eyes went wide with confusion. Zeke just stood there, not realizing what he said at first but then the fact that he made such a critical slip came to him eventually.

"W-What...?" Reiner stammered.

Zeke needed to cover himself as much as he could, "I said _slack off,_ are you deaf Braun?" he corrected himself, hoping to god that everyone else took it as a mistake... but since both Reiner and Bertolt heard it there was no way he could possibly recover in their minds. He took solace in the fact that as their leader they wouldn't question him. He took as much of a glance into their tent as possible and saw Priscilla's legs covered by a blanket, but there was no movement which to him supported Bertolt's hypothesis that she was asleep.

"Right, sorry Warchief Zeke..." Reiner apologized

"Wake her up. She needs to be ready to go at anytime, I won't tolerate any delays. Our time is growing short and we have to make sure we are prepared to finish this mission," he commanded.

Reiner nodded and retreated back into his tent where his sweet lady was sound asleep. He felt awful having to wake her up, but an order is an order – an order that ultimately had her best interests at heart. He could at least go about it gently...

"Hey..." He said softly. Reiner reached out and stroked her cheek a few times, "It's time to wake up."

Priscilla let out a soft moan and her brows furrowed before her eyes slowly opened. Her vision wasn't clear at first but she could tell it was Reiner without a doubt. She smiled at him warmly as her eyes finally focused.

"Hi there..." She whispered sweetly. She reached out and caressed his cheek as well, "What's going on?"

Reiner's expression fell, "Zeke says we need to make sure you're ready to go as soon as possible... I didn't want to wake you, but..."

"It's ok... I get it, I get it..." She sighed as she sat up.

The blanket that covered her fell and exposed her bare top half. Reiner averted his eyes – he didn't want to get all worked up again at such an inconvenient time so he did what he could to deny himself that urge. Priss noticed his sudden sheepishness and instantly realized exactly why he was starting to turn red. She giggled quietly and raised her hand to his cheek where she gently turned him to face her again, then moved in to give him a tender kiss. They lingered like that for just a moment before the reluctantly parted to get ready to go outside. Reiner fully clothed himself properly, but Priss went with the bare minimum. When it came to the 'bare minimum' for her dressing herself, Priss opted to forgo pants in favor of just Reiner's shirt as always. That was good enough for now. Once she stepped out Priss immediately noticed Zeke's lack of shirt and grimaced.

"What's the deal with _that_?" She asked as she pointed at him, referring to his lack of shirt "Cover up, ape!"

Zeke groaned, he was so eager to get her out of there since there was never any end to the annoyance she would incite, "I'm _really_ not in the mood for you to be getting breasty with me, Ziegler."

Once more everyone gawked at him for his choice of words, there was no way they could have misheard him a second time... and Priscilla was happy to call him out on his slip, accidental as it was, and not have to worry about repercussions.

"Getting _breasty_ with you, huh?" She asked, "Don't worry, I will never be getting breasty with you Zeke. I can promise you that."

"I said _testy_ , I really don't need you to be getting _testy_ with me," Zeke yet again tried to correct himself, but Priscilla knew better.

"Right, sure, ok Zeke..." She scoffed with a roll of her eyes and then added with even more sarcasm, " _Whatever you say._ "

Not even five minutes elapsed since these two started interacting again and the atmosphere of the camp was already tense – it was as if they just couldn't help themselves when it came to getting, for lack of a better word, bitchy. At this point it seemed like a damn near impossible task for either of them to walk away from the petty conflicts they generated and be the bigger person. For Zeke this reflected very poorly on him given him being so much older than Priss, and such childishness is a regrettably acceptable trait for a girl of Priscilla's age. Thankfully for the Warchief's sanity there was a bit of an end was in sight for him, removing her from the camp may only be a brief reprieve but at least it was... _something_.

"I see you're not ready..." Zeke sneered, "Your ride could be here at any moment, I need you to be perfectly prepared."

"You are really excited to get rid of me, aren't you?" She responded as she folded her arms.

"Just get dressed _,_ " He commanded with sharp enunciation at the end of each word, something he thought would compel her to listen to him, but Zeke should have known better by now that any attempt at verbal intimidation was useless against the pettish witch that tormented him.

" _You first,_ " She growled with contempt as she gestured to his mostly bare torso, "Nobody wants to see that."

At that point Zeke was losing composure, "And who wants to see _that?!_ " He exclaimed with his own gesture towards her thighs.

What could only be cum had slowly oozed out of her after she and Reiner finished fucking and it had gotten onto her inner thighs. Reiner's heavy loads always filled her completely and it was only natural for some to seep out after... but typically one would be wearing clothes and the issue of it being on display like it was now wouldn't arise.

Priss snickered and took on a condescending tone, "Oh no, does that offend you Mr. Warchief?"

Thus began yet another quarrel, possibly their most absurd one to date. Reiner was more than a little embarrassed by his goddamn cum being part of it. Priss kept going on and on about how Zeke should put a shirt on because he's not nice to look at like she is, and to her this justified her wearing only Reiner's big flowing shirt that was more like a dress, albeit a short dress, but one that covered her indecent parts nonetheless. They went back and forth on "you get dressed" and "no YOU get dressed" as if they were literal children. It ended up boiling back down to him declaring his word being law because he is the Warchief and Priss happily proclaiming she doesn't care at all since she is not one of his subordinates. His 'breasty' slip from moments ago certainly popped up again. Reiner watched helplessly as their argument went on and on – he tried to figure out something neutral he could interject with to calm both of these beasts but it was futile. At one point all of it just degenerated into dull white noise as he struggled to find the right words.

Reiner had reality thrust back onto him when it suddenly became physical though.

He saw Priscilla throw her arms out and shove Zeke hard. Reiner didn't know if they were arguing about the same topic anymore or if it had shifted somewhat while he was in his brief daze, either way it was clearly escalating. However, Reiner couldn't act fast enough. He wasn't able to get between them when Priss gave Zeke the first push, nor was he able to when he saw the glint of danger in Zeke's eyes spark up. Priss didn't notice it, or maybe she just didn't care, because she went ahead and advanced upon Zeke to go give him another shove. Everything went down in the blink of an eye...

Reiner clearly saw in Zeke's face that his next act was inspired by more than just this most recent argument, but by some combination of all the ones that came before it as well,"Stop!" He called out, but things were already in motion by the time Reiner was able to act.

Zeke stepped forward and grabbed the girl by the arms before she could shove him again – his grip was painfully firm and it made her wince as he applied pressure to her. Faster than anyone could process the situation, Zeke threw her to the ground. In his anger he definitely did it harder than he should have, evident by the gasp she let out upon colliding with the hard surface. Priss kept her face turned down, she didn't want him to see the shocked and frightened expression she had. The harsh reality of the fact that he was far stronger and could easily overpower her if he so chose set in. All four members of the camp were speechless for their own reasons until a faint laugh broke the silence.

" _Wow,_ " Priscilla snickered darkly as she raised her head to look at him now that she banished her shocked look and replaced it with a smug one, there was no way she would let him see her frightened of him if she could help it – she refused to give him that kind of satisfaction, "What kind of man throws around a pregnant girl?"

The best way she could fight him now was with her words, "Or... would you treat any lady that way?" she added.

" _Lady_?" Zeke repeated back in what could only be called amazed disbelief, "You're not a lady... you're a _bitch_."

Nobody had a chance to react before Reiner launched himself at Zeke where he grabbed him by his coat. He was furious, so much so that he had to use all his will power to contain himself from punching Zeke square in the jaw and knocking out as many of his teeth as he could. What would it matter, as they would just regenerate anyway... but with his transgression previously during their duel, Reiner knew very well that a completely unprovoked and violent assault would land him in hot water without a doubt – and for his sweet Priscilla's sake he couldn't let himself get so careless.

"Don't..." He growled with the anger within him threatening to boil over, "Don't you _ever_ call her that again."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Once Zeke collected himself he planned to chide Reiner, who was still gripping his coat tightly and giving him a death glare. Lucky for Reiner – and for everyone there – something, as if sent from God to defuse the situation, arrived at the scene.

"Warchief Zeke...!"

A distorted voice echoed from the ground below. The Warriors knew the source but Priscilla was struck with fear and was frozen on the ground at the inhuman noise. Zeke shook Reiner off of him and jogged to the edge of the wall that lead to the lands beyond and Bertolt followed. Reiner sighed and tried to shake off his anger that still burned it him. He turned to see Priscilla still on the ground, so Reiner knelt down and took both her hands in his, held them tightly and pulled her back up to her feet as he stood. Priss looked up at Reiner with a mix of curiosity and unease.

"What... was that?" She asked, referring to the odd call out to Zeke from down on the ground.

"That's Pieck," Reiner answered simply.

Reiner put an arm around her and escorted her to the edge where she could see Pieck for herself. Far below them was a titan with an elongated face that was walking on all fours, which was odd considering how just about all titans Priscilla had seen up to that point were closer to human than animal, with the clear exception being the Beast titan. Pieck's titan form looked more like a human/horse hybrid and it left the girl feeling unsettled just looking at it. On the titan's back was a cart, presumably stocked with the supplies that sustained the three Warriors at the camp. Words were being exchanged between Zeke and Pieck but Priss was too distracted by the ugliness of the thing to pay attention to whatever was being said.

"I've told Pieck what she needs to do for you, you just have to guide her." Zeke said without looking in Priscilla's direction as he addressed her.

Priscilla took a few deep breaths as anxiety started to creep up on her, but Reiner kept his hold on her just as firm to comfort her. The despair of being away from Reiner was sinking back in; it had been clouded by her bitter bickering with the Warchief but now it was back in full swing.

"Let me just get myself together..." She murmured to Reiner, so he released her.

She had stowed away her sack of the items she brought from Hyperia in their tent. Once she retrieved it, she took a quick look to make sure everything was there: the various books, the family portrait and... the item she entirely forgot about: the unicorn stuffed animal from her youth. Once she made sure everything was there, she put her proper clothing on and exited the tent to stand with Reiner one last time before she had to go. Her face twitched as she tried to hold back her intense emotions over having to go.

"Hey," He said quietly as he took her hands in his once more, prompting her to look into his eyes, "It won't be long. We'll get the Founding Titan and come get you before you know it."

"I trust you," She responded as she squeezed his hands tightly, "And I love you."

"I love you too, stay safe Priss."

With those words exchanged, Reiner pulled Priss in close to him and she followed his lead by throwing her arms around him. Perfectly in sync, the lovers kissed each other good bye deeply and passionately as if nobody else was there. Bertolt looked away from them as he always felt awkward about their blatant, shameless and over the top displays of affection. The kiss wasn't exactly a quick thing, and after a few moments it seemed like they weren't going to knock it off, so Zeke cleared his throat loudly – which accomplished the task of getting them to stop borderline making out.

"Take her down to Pieck," Zeke ordered sternly, "No more wasting time."

The pair reluctantly peeled away from each other with both of them locking eyes to silently say their final farewell... for now. Reiner did as he was ordered, bringing her down safely with his ODM. Priss climbed into the cart on Pieck's back and without hesitation and it started to move out, so Reiner returned up the wall.

"I have to ask..." Zeke began as soon as Reiner came back, "The only one who was concerned about retrieving _Annie_ was Bertolt, wasn't it? I'm getting the feeling you only backed him up because you wanted to go back for your girlfriend."

"...Yes sir. You're right," Reiner admitted, "But I couldn't exactly say that at the time."

"How convenient for you that things transpired as they did," Zeke said with a smirk, "And to have that girl fall right into my lap like that is beyond lucky. So far beyond it that I'm convinced it was _meant_ to happen."

"Warchief Zeke... I don't understand why you're so fixated on Priss."

"And I don't understand why you _love_ that girl," Zeke replied, effortlessly diverting the subject from his own interest in her.

"...Sir, I could spend the next hour straight answering that question... so I'll try to sum it up for you instead," He said, "Up until I met her not many people thought of me highly, not even close to that. Just my mom really. But to Priss I was always the best thing in the world, pretty much right from the start. The way she put me above everyone else made me feel wanted and special – nobody else did that for me... and I wanted to make her feel the same way. I wanted to be the reason for her to smile just like she was my reason to. Even after I told her the horrible things I had done and how I wouldn't live for many more years, nothing changed for her. For either of us. I was still her princely hero."

"Hm," Zeke responded while sounding rather uninterested. He didn't expect Reiner to have a meaningful answer. In fact he just chalked up to their relationship as being something shallow and based on sex. He then added, with an equal amount of disinterest as before, "That's really something."

" _She's_ really something. I'd never met anyone like her before... someone so wild and exciting... and..." Reiner paused, allowing for a warm smile to appear on his face, "Free."

That last word caught Zeke's attention, "Free?"

"Priss lives how she wants and takes what she wants when she wants it," Reiner went on, "And I promised to make sure she stays living free with a smile on her face – a Goddess like her deserves nothing less. So I'll love and worship her until the day I die... I won't let anyone put her in a cage as a tool to be used only when it's convenient for someone."

Zeke glanced over to Reiner with a dark look in his eyes, "...Sounds like you know someone like that."

"I do," Reiner responded without any hesitation, or even looking to Zeke.

"Bold thing to say, Reiner..." Zeke said flatly and returned his gaze forward, "For the sake of keeping things running smoothly with the mission... I'll pretend I didn't hear it."

Down on the ground as she rode away it wasn't exactly smooth going, but off Priscilla went. She looked back with longing at the silhouette of Reiner that grew further and further away until she couldn't see any of the figures atop the wall anymore. Priscilla turned her head forward once more, feeling that sinking feeling of loneliness and emptiness already taking hold of her, but she had to focus on directing Pieck like she directed Reiner to her home.

–

"What are you smirking for?"

Two men occupied a vehicle making it's way through a busy city. They sat in the back while it was driven by a hired driver. One of the men had long free flowing hair that went down past his shoulders while the other had mid length white hair that was partially pulled back. The white haired man glanced over to his companion and his smile grew even wider.

"The time draws near, Willy..." He said in a hushed voice, "My sister is coming soon. I can feel it."

"You sound awfully confident..." The man identified as Willy responded, sounding a bit doubtful.

"I can feel her," The other said with certainty while he raised a hand to tap his temple, "She may not be able to feel me, but I'm positive we'll be seeing her soon."

"I hope you're right about that," Willy sighed, but then continued after a pensive pause, "You know, you've been talking her up for a long time. I have high expectations for this sister of yours."

The white haired man scoffed which lead to a wry chuckle at Willy's words, "Oh she'll exceed them, trust me. Exceed them beyond your wildest dreams."


	19. Chapter XIV: Season of the Witch

**A/N: It is a long one since I could not find a logical place to split this. I'm sure you will find your own spot to take an intermission and treat yourself to something nice because you deserve it for making it as far as you have. Then treat yourself again if you make it through the rest. I sure did.**

 **Chapter XIV: Season of the Witch**

 _Another moon is shining  
_ _Another evening come  
_ _Another hour unwinding  
_ _Till the night is done_

Priscilla bitterly made her way back through the forest that would bring her back to her hometown. In her arms was a large crate with supplies to sustain her for a couple of days; Pieck informed her that Zeke told her to give her food and some water, but to be sure ration them carefully, and to drink from any natural water sources present in Hyperia if she absolutely must. It was a pitiful gesture, but at least he sent her away with something instead of nothing at all. It wasn't back breaking heavy, but still a struggle, especially since she had her own bag that was filled with the relics she had initially brought from Hyperia.

 _Making a pregnant girl carry all this shit... I swear... Such bullshit._

By now the sun was setting and the moon began to rise. Once Priss had reached the clearing where the city was located she paused and she looked to see a faint view of the moon and suddenly she just felt... better. Any weariness, hunger or thirst she had developed vanished and the crate was oddly less heavy than it felt before, and her satchel felt completely weightless. Her gaze then fell to the grand statue of the goddess. She only lingered here for a moment before she decided to head to her old house – it only made sense for her to set up there since it was the only thing remotely familiar to her here.

She made her way along, crossing the bridge that lead across the crystal clear river. It seemed very clean, but she knew looks could be very deceiving, but that's where she had to turn if she ran out of the potable water supplied by Pieck. It didn't take long after crossing the river to reach her old home where she noticed something peculiar... On the ground she previously tread on her last visit here she noticed white flowers sprouting – a spot of earth where nothing had previously had been growing the last time she was there. Not even grass, or a weed here and there, so the fact that tiny patches of flowers had sprung up was exceedingly strange.

"Eh, whatever..." She muttered dismissively. It wasn't something worth thinking too hard about.

She placed the crate down to open the door and when she looked inside of her old home once more a strange feeling filled her. Something that felt like the opposite of nostalgia... resentment, bitterness and even anger. This was not the place she could call home, it wasn't a place she called home for most of her life. Which begged the question, where did she consider her home to be anyway? The orphanage? The street? _That man's_ house? Military barracks? Certainly not the Warrior's camp... however, it didn't take much thought for her to realize the clear answer to that question.

Home was wherever Reiner was.

Priscilla's foul emotions were replaced with far more pleasant ones, even if longing and loneliness were present in her mood shift as well. She felt happiness, love, hope and he certainty that she'd be reunited with him again soon. As long as she kept that in mind, she would be just fine. She pushed the crate in and once she was inside with the door closed she was hit with fatigue once more. She left the box near the door because she lost the will to move it any further than she had to. The pale girl hobbled over to the couch, removed her bag and heavily plopped down, sending a cloud of dust into the air. She coughed and choked on the flurry of particles, cursing herself for not thinking about that.

"Well," She groaned as she stared towards the ceiling, "Surprise, surprise. I'm already fucking bored."

Priss glanced down to the bag on the floor that was filled practically to the point of bursting with all the items she had in it. She had plenty to read, that was for sure, but it would be what Zeke wanted her to do and her childish bitterness deterred her from doing it for that reason alone. It was petty of her and she knew she'd end up doing it eventually, but he wanted her to give him whatever relevant information she read on her own here. Her mind wandered to whether or not she should do that, or go with the other idea that she could lie about the content – what could he do to punish her at this point anyway? Reiner proved he could beat Zeke in a fight so that threat was moot. He can't kill her, it seemed the best he could do that he has demonstrated thus far is throw her to the ground and call her a bitch. Not a harsh punishment in the slightest; it was something she could take.

"...Not now..." She murmured to herself. Her eyes began to close as she laid on her back on the musty old couch, "I just... I just need sleep."

* * *

"Hey..."

A breathy voice roused Zeke from his slumber, a sleep that was so deep that it was surprising that something so soft could wake him as easily as it did. It wasn't a whisper, but it wasn't all that much louder than one either. With his glasses off he couldn't make out who was there with him, and the fact that he was just waking up made things even blurrier. He sat up and started groping around for his glasses but they weren't where he was sure he had left them before going to sleep.

The sweet voice came again, "Let me..."

Zeke turned to the blurred figure that was becoming a bit more clear as his vision focused, as much as it could without the aid of his glasses anyway. The person raised their hands to his face slowly with an object in them. He quickly realized this person must have taken his glasses and now they – no, she – was the one putting them on him; as if the sole reason she took them was to be the one to make him see clearly. The voice alone was enough of a clue, but the idea of her being back there was not very realistic, yet he saw her there clear as crystal once she returned his sight to him.

"Ziegler? What are you doing in here?" He asked in disbelief.

Her demeanor wasn't like she usually carried herself around him – here she was quite relaxed as opposed to her usual stiff and standoffish way that she expressed with him. In fact something about her disposition almost seemed... _inviting._ She tilted her head to the side and her hair cascaded along with it, the long strands of it falling over her face a bit.

"I wanted to see you," She whispered with a cute smile, "To talk to you privately for a bit."

Zeke's disbelief shifted quickly to suspicion, "About what exactly?"

The girl leaned in closer to him, placing one of her hands on his and giving it a light squeeze,"To talk about _us_ of course," She clarified.

Zeke glanced down and saw that she was wearing nothing at all – he wasn't sure how that wasn't obvious immediately but now that he noticed he felt a lump in his throat. He was already in a state of shock to begin with over just the fact that she was in there with him on top of acting far different than usual... that was the only answer as to why he didn't realize her nudity right away, but now it was impossible to ignore – her breasts specifically. They were just _right there_ on shameless display. Seeing her like this, up close and personal in his tent had him now equally as aroused as he was suspicious.

"And what's there to talk about regarding... _us_?" He asked after a long pause, looking back up to her face after lingering far too long than he should have on her chest. It seemed she didn't mind that his eyes had been wandering though. If she didn't want him looking she would be taking some measure to conceal herself.

"Reiner told me you're special, that you can do things the other Warriors can't..." She replied softly. She raised one of her hands to stroke his cheek, "And I'm special too, you said as much yourself... so I did some thinking about it and honestly it makes sense for you and I to work together peacefully... And..."

" _And?_ " He urged, trying to remain as blunt in his affect as he could as to not blatantly give away his very apparent state of arousal. Zeke had a feeling she knew of it despite her not even so much as quickly glancing downward to see if he was hard.

She ignored his question for the moment to address what was on his mind as if she were able to read his thoughts,"Look, I'm well aware of the effect I have on men. I get it, it's ok to feel the way you do. A beautiful, young girl like me... You don't have to try and hide it. I know what you did when you demanded to be left alone to 'rest.' I'm not stupid, Zeke... and actually I find it very flattering, _especially_ from an older man like you..." She murmured with a touch of tantalizing amusement to her tone, "But to answer your question... Don't you think special people should be together? There's a whole lot we could accomplish side by side."

"...What do you mean?"

"Ohhhh Zeke," She sighed as she pulled back a bit and her hand drifted to his thigh, "I know what you're after. You're seeking Heaven for the sake of making the world a better place... And I just think that's so... _noble_."

Priss rubbed his upper thigh, agonizingly close to his dick, which made sure his urge to have sex with her was still strong enough to diminish his suspicion. Nonetheless Zeke, ever the curious man, raised an eyebrow and questioned her further, "How could you possibly know anything about that?"

"That doesn't matter," She whispered. Priss went from rubbing his thigh to squeezing it tightly, "You need me in more ways than one, and I'm willing- no... no I'm _happy_ to provide what it is you need – especially what I can see you need from me right now."

"Are you..."

"It's a cold and harsh world we live in Zeke. It must be tough for you," She replied as she slowly brought her face closer to his, "I know how far a little warmth can go to reinvigorate a man. I know you want this from me... and you know what? I want it too. Want it for you. Want it _with_ you. I'm the only one who can show you the Heaven you're desperately searching for... So why don't we get started?"

Priss gave him a soft kiss on the lips which acted as the final confirmation of where he hoped this was going: that she was down to fuck. Something seemed very off about all this though – how could she be back at camp after having sent her away earlier in the evening? How did she scale the wall? And how could she possibly have any inkling about what the great grand plan he had with her brother was? There was no way anything back in her old city that would offer insight into that.

...However, in the end his dick really did not give a single shit about any of that. He had been living in intense, salacious longing to take her for his own these last few days and now it seemed like Zeke was about to slake his lusty thirst that this young woman had rapidly inspired in him. It didn't take long after their meeting for him to hit the point of wanting to fuck her, and he did whatever he could to hide that fact, but God did he want to have her – a want that grew every time he saw her.

While he was busy getting lost in thought, Priscilla started to tug at his clothes without breaking her lips away from his. The two of them rarely had a pleasant experience with one another. They could be civil at best and, as it turns out, a bit violent at worst. But now there wasn't a trace of her vitriolic feelings towards him, which lead him to wonder if she acted the way she did previously as playing an intense game of hard to get. The more he considered it... how could that not be the answer given what was unfolding before his very eyes now? She was sitting there stark naked before him, pulling at his clothes while kissing him and blatantly offering herself to him.

"What are you waiting for?" She purred alluringly as she pulled away to meet his gaze once more. Oddly enough he was fixed on her eyes rather than her naked body in that moment; something about her eyes was different than usual. It was as if they were guarding something going on in her mind; her eyes always gave away what she was thinking. But maybe there wasn't _actually_ anything to guard since at this rate having sex with him was what clearly was on her mind and that's what her expression was really conveying: pure, unbridled lust. Zeke had to wonder if this was the sort of look she gave Reiner when she would beckon him to her or if this darkly seductive gaze was something exclusively for him.

He wanted to believe it the look she was giving him in that moment was one just for him, something special between the two of them that she wouldn't give to anyone else.

After being lost in thought for an exceedingly long amount of time Zeke snapped back into reality and started undressing.

"What about Reiner?" He couldn't help but ask as he struggled out of his clothing until he was completely undressed.

"Just take me now!" She exclaimed as she literally threw herself at him. She grabbed him tightly by the shoulders, digging her nails into them and pulled him on top of her as she fell down onto her back with a thud. He could see that vaguely familiar beastly look in her eyes once more, but even more sinister than he had seen before – sinister, but also erotic. There was a remarkable and irresistible allure in such a dangerous woman; the excitement and lust inspired by this sort of girl would make any other pale in comparison.

The man was getting lost in staring at the femme fatale beneath him, she really was lovely. It was common in mythology for there to be a goddess of love, beauty and sex – perhaps she was it, but one who also possessed the potential to bring ruin. She was the one who seemed to detest him so much, the one who would do everything she could to dominate and put him down, and now she was submitting to him in the ultimate way. As he sat there not taking any action, Priss aggressively pulled him in and gave him another kiss – this time more passionate than the last. Zeke responded with equal enthusiasm as he kissed her back and stuffed his tongue into her mouth. She let out a muffled moan and slid her tongue along his as she wrapped her arms around him to keep him as close as she physically could.

"Come on..." She panted when she found a moment to speak, " _Fuck me Zeke._ "

Those last three words shattered any hesitation that remained in his mind, not that there was much at all left– he needed to be inside of her and he needed it _now_. Their bodies awkwardly tangled together until he was between her legs. The man had no concept of foreplay or easing things along so he moved eagerly forward and plunged his cock into her, which made her whimper from the sudden penetration. He was overwhelmed with the warmth and tightness that her pussy provided him – she was spot on with her comment on how some of that can be so invigorating.

Once he was inside her, Zeke heard Priss let out a little moan. Hearing her moaning for him sent a shiver down Zeke's spine – he wanted more of that, he wanted to hear her calling out his name in ecstasy as well as hearing her whisper his name in his ear as she begged him breathlessly to fuck her. When he pushed the full length of his cock into her he got exactly that: a quiet call of his name and an urge for him to keep going. He of course obliged, he did exactly what she wanted of him. He laid over top her so he could be close and enjoy feeling her warm, soft body as much as he could, it also provided more opportunity to keep kissing her.

Their sloppy kissing continued, moaning dramatically all throughout. When the moment arose where they needed to break the kiss, Priscilla's call outs of things like 'yes' and 'oh god' came at varying levels of volume and intensity, along with her exclaiming about how amazing everything was. His thrusting was hard and fast because he just couldn't contain himself from going 0 to 100 given how much pent up sexual frustration he had with her, and now he was finally getting to release those intense feelings in the ideal way. Lashing out at her in anger only did so much and usually ended poorly for him, and just masturbating while listening to her getting fucked by Reiner was as good as it got at the time, but now he was winning on unprecedented levels.

With how hard and fast he was going it left Priscilla unable to form words anymore, all she could do at this point was moan loudly through her heavy panting – he was rocking her world _that_ hard. Suddenly she threw her head back and cried out a desperate plea:

"Cum inside me Zeke!"

At that point the ability to hold back was out of his control. Between going at her so hard without restraint and her begging him to do it there was no way he could prolong things, as much as he honestly wanted to, but at this point the craving to bust one inside of her was stronger than continuing to fuck. Once a woman says those words, the willpower to do anything but cum tends to be obliterated – and so he did just that. He grunted loudly and unloaded his seed into her.

"God..." He panted as he pulled out and collapsed beside her once he had finished. She turned on her side and cuddled up to him.

"Did I make you feel good? I hope I did... Because you made me feel good, _really_ good," She said with a smile, "And I want to keep making you feel good. I really do. I mean, I know there's nobody else you can enjoy doing this with, given how great of a risk it would be for you and all."

That set off such an alarm bell in his mind that he couldn't ignore it, especially now that their tryst had come to a conclusion and his thoughts were no longer completely clouded by sex, "...What do you mean...?"

"I know about you. How you're - – - – - – - - - - "

The latter part of her sentence was 'blanked' out. He saw her lips moving as if she _were_ speaking, but no sound came from her. He was no expert at reading lips, but one word stood out clear as day, and it was something she could not have possibly known about him.

"What... How could you..." He murmured. He couldn't muster up aggressively questioning her in his post-orgasm haze despite how direly he wanted to interrogate her now.

Priss hummed and pulled him closer to her, "Don't worry about it. Just think about _us_. Lay here and dream with me about where our story will go. Where we will end up... I get the feeling it's going to be just like we are right now... Won't that be wonderful?"

At this point, what did anything matter? He got what he had been immediately wanting from her, as well as knowing she was willing to go along with what was to come in the future – and not even merely willing to, but _happy_ to. On top of all that she was being so loving towards him, which was the strangest thing about this; it was like she was seeing Reiner instead of him. The way she was holding him close and humming softly afterward was certainly something a lover would be doing too; someone who cares for and wants to comfort someone – not the behavior of some soulless one night stand type affair at all.

There was no other way to describe it other than she was treating him the way she would Reiner. From the very beginning of their encounter that night she was sweet to him: touching his hand, stroking his face and giving him a tender kiss before anything got _explicitly_ sexual. Now he had more insight into Reiner's words; now he kind of 'got it' – and 'it' felt rather nice. The sex on it's own was all he cared about, not anything emotional, but the fact that he received more than what he wanted and expected ended up elevating the experience. She began to run her fingers through his messy hair and her humming dwindled into silence. Zeke hadn't felt so at ease in a long time that it was foreign to him; maybe what she said about going to Heaven was literal... and that this _really_ was it.

"I'll make you happy Ezekiel Yeager," She said and then kissed him again, "I always will. I promise."

* * *

Priscilla opened her eyes to almost complete darkness. Since there was no functioning lighting in the dead city anymore it was evident that night had arrived in full, but how deep into the night it was she had no idea. She didn't mean to sleep for longer than just a little nap, but her fatigue was evidently worse than she thought it was. The girl sat up and groaned, reaching her arms above her head to crack her weary bones and stretch some stiff muscles. The old couch wasn't exactly comfortable to snooze on for an extended period of time.

She carefully made her way to he nearest window and took a look outside – as she thought, it was the dead of night. She did notice that the moon was especially bright out there, not enough to illuminate the inside of any buildings completely, but if she were to go out into the open then she would have some light to work with. The only reason she could really use light right now was to... read. Even in the day time the indoor lighting wouldn't be great, unless she had all the shades open of course and sat near the windows, but she'd rather sit beneath soothing the moon than the harsh sun. Feeling more pepped up after her extended nap, she decided to indulge in more literature – and if the last things she read were any indication, it would be just as disturbing to her to delve more into "her" history, but while ignorance was bliss, it would do more harm than good to stay in the dark.

She didn't like to think of it as her history though. Just like she couldn't think of this place as her home, but her feelings of resentment for it didn't change the fact that all this was in her blood. Priss had no connection to this place or anything in those books, but still... she very well could have remained with her people if not for her father's choice to leave her behind, and that fact is what stirred that visceral disgust in her when she discovered the dark secrets of her race.

Despite the horrors she suffered within the walls, she still feels like she dodged a bullet if only for one thing: she got to meet Reiner there, and he's what made it all ok.

A thought crossed her mind as she thought about light sources. While she had no idea how the lamps worked she reasoned that maybe some candles and matches were lying around, but in the state of darkness within her house now it wouldn't do any good to attempt to find them, so she decided she would seek them out when the daylight came around once more. This way she could look around for more items that could offer insight, even if she wasn't all that excited about the information, the aid it would provide is undeniable. For now though she just grabbed her bag and went outside so she could see what she was doing under the bright moon.

Priss wasn't sure where to start that time. There was already so much to go through that she hadn't scratched the surface of all there was to discover, at least that's what she suspected. Not only was there the personal writings of her father, which she was certain there was more of that covered things in their family life before she was born, but all the texts about their society in general. Chronicling the history of an entire race in no way could be concise and likely spread across many more texts than what she had gathered. Once outside she chose to sit next to the small trail of flowers she had observed before on her way in; they weren't like any she was familiar with but in fairness she was never interested in flowers or plants so she dismissed them as common wild growths.

She just decided to go with the first thing she pulled from her bag which turned out to be writings of her father. Priss wasn't sure if this was better or worse than the other options but she told herself she'd go with whatever she pulled out first, so that was it. It was her aim to skip over what she'd already read in there;what she really wanted to get into was information about her brother since it turned out, according to Zeke anyway, that he's alive and well in Marley. After some flipping and scanning she managed to find an entry about him.

 _Given his status as the high born son, Anteros is the best candidate to receive a place on our elite council. We've been in the phase of trialing him for longer than we have any other past candidate. He is... concerning. He has shown to be operating on a level powerful enough to be a member, which is no surprise at all, but there is something more to it than any of the rest of us. I've noticed there are times where he "cuts out" of the connection we all have. There's not ever been one of our people who has possessed such an ability. We're all connected, nobody can just turn it off and on at will... except him. I suspect that he can even brute force his way past the mental block I and the other council members can exert over the rest of the population as we need, and if that's true that means he knows the truth already. The truth we only entrust to members of our council, but there's no way for me to know. Just a gut feeling._

 _He's always been an outsider given how far in age he is from the rest of us. Whether that has to do with his unique ability (that I don't know the extent of) is something I do not know. He's a wild card who shows disdain for anyone he thinks is treating him unfairly, which nobody ever has, he just perceives benign things as slights against him sometimes. The only person he never shows an ounce of negative emotion towards is his sister. They're attached at the hip, but to the point that he tries to keep her separated from others as much as he can. He sincerely loves her but in a way that I think is very obsessive. He's the closest person in age to her... but I worry for her... Since I can't always tell what he is thinking, could he do something to corrupt her? I fear the possibilities of what he can do if he already knows our truth... and what he can do to her mind. She's still so young and malleable, plus he's the one she loves and trusts the most. If he tells her anything she will believe it without question._

 _I don't know what to do about him. I can't shake the paranoia that he could do something reckless with the information he likely has and I'm frightened of what could happen if he decides to reveal it, either to the public at large or even just Adrestia... I suppose if I deny him a place among the council it'd spur him to use the information he has against us. It's the only thing we block from public knowledge so him using it as a weapon could cause chaos in our already fragile society. So the safest course of action would be to assume he is in the know and to grant him a place, but I don't feel good about it at all... I will do what I can to delay it though. But who knows what kind of things he'll be able to do once he is accepted among our governing group of elite. This makes it all the harder to figure out what to do..._

 _I can hear him and Adrestia playing in the next room. He brings her such joy, but the fact that he could be dangerous has solidified even further in my mind that she needs to be left behind on this island. I haven't informed the population yet about the decision to migrate, but I am sure it won't be much longer until I have to. Separating them when that time comes, I believe, will ultimately be best for her. Even without fully being able to read him, I sense something sinister in him. Just seeing his eyes... that alone gives me enough insight to see how hateful he has the potential to be._

Priss grimaced down at the pages she just read through. She was suddenly brought back to the memory that had come to her in her dream: where her brother had brought her to see Titans and went on about how their ultimate purpose in the universe is to exterminate Eldians.

"Was that..." She spoke softly, "Was that the truth that was hidden? That we exist to kill Eldians?"

Her posture hunched and she let the book flop onto her lap. As she recalled the dream more, she remembered that he did use the word 'secret' before he told her. She wracked her brain over why only a select few would get to have that knowledge for several minutes, finding it difficult to come to a rational conclusion. The memory returned piece by piece and lead her down one possible path; to her it seemed unbelievable, but it was the only answer that made sense. The words she herself spoke in the memory...

 _We're not supposed to leave the city!_

"...Nobody knew about the Titans..." She realized, "If we couldn't leave the city, and the knowledge about Eldians was kept hidden... nobody but those few people like my father... would even know Titans or Eldians existed."

One of the universal truths of this world that had been seared into her mind since youth was the horror of the Titans; to think there was a period of her life where she was completely unaware of them was disturbingly foreign. She couldn't imagine the full grown adults who had been living in blissful ignorance all their lives having to face the eldritch truth of what was outside of their enclosed world and how traumatizing it must have been. Suddenly it seemed like a blessing for Titans to have been normalized for her.

Priss had to wonder about those other books: the science and history texts. Surely things from those tomes would be accessible to the public, but after some thought she considered the fact that they _were_ books in her father's personal study that was locked – and if he was some sort of leader, which was clearly the case by now, then it wouldn't be a stretch to believe those books weren't meant for eyes other than his own or his trusted cohorts.

"...This is fucked up," She uttered as she raised her hands to rub her temples, "I don't want to deal with this. I just want..."

The girl shut her eyes tightly in an attempt to seek out something happy, and it wasn't hard to find. It was all she wanted for years more than anything: to live happily with Reiner – and she desired that peaceful dream life more than ever right now. She had her points of wanting to come home and find out what happened to her family, but that was far less of a priority compared to just being with Reiner and being _normal_... normal in comparison to the recent revelations laid before her. She envisioned a pleasant scene to get lost in for comfort: a quaint, practical house with a modest porch just big enough to comfortably fit a loveseat on. The sun was setting and the moon was rising while three figures crammed together on the small outdoor couch sat watching the celestial bodies share the sky together.

Two of the figures were clear as day, herself and Reiner of course, but between them sat someone a little bit blurry. It was a child, a boy no older than about four, who was kicking his feet. The more she imagined the more she could make out of him and a tiny smile appeared on her face.

"He's got my eyes," She laughed quietly, "But Reiner's eyelashes... brows are more like his than mine for sure."

Trying to piece together what this little boy of theirs could possibly look like was more soothing than she expected it to be. Priss wasn't sure why she pictured a boy instead of a girl, it was just what naturally came to her as she got lost in her fantasy. She hadn't even considered which she'd prefer, it was just that a boy is where her mind brought her and now the feeling of just knowing it would be a boy was burned into her mind. This whole pregnancy was still such a recent development and with all the other things going on, she didn't have a chance to think about these sorts of things. After just a brief moment of bliss, the cruel reality crept back up: that this would only ever be a short lived life together at best. Her smile dropped immediately and her eyes shot open, not even her happy thoughts were hers to hold onto for very long; they were tragically stolen away from her the same as everything else.

There was still a shred of happiness to be found in this dream though: the legacy of her and Reiner would live on. Reiner would be unfairly lost sooner than he deserved, but there would still be someone she could look at and be reminded of the man she loved more than anything, the man who changed her life and saved her – part of him, in a way, would always be with her. Not only did this boy represent their legacy and their love for each other, but freedom as well.

And nothing would be able to steal that from her.

* * *

"Reeeeeeeinerrr..."

Priscilla had her head buried in her lover's chest, staining his shirt with her tears. Between her sobs and sniffling she kept calling his name softly and desperately. Reiner held her close and stroked her silky hair, just letting her cry as much as she needed. The thing is, he didn't know what exactly she was crying about, but soon enough she made it abundantly clear – and it was something he really should have figured out right away.

"Reiner, he's terrible..." She whined as she looked up to him, her beautiful green eyes were wet and reddened, "He sickens me, you've seen how he treats me. How he speaks to me. You just know what he's thinking of me too."

"Who?" Reiner asked, despite having a pretty good idea of who she meant.

" _Zeke_ ," She wept, "I hate him. I hate him so much. He's rude, he's violent and inconsiderate, cruel even... He's seen us... us in our most intimate of moments... "

"I know, I know..." He said comfortingly, "I don't like what he's been doing either. He's never been so... so..."

"Disgusting?" She finished for him, sniffling loudly.

"Yeah, that'd be the perfect word for how he's been acting," Reiner immediately agreed, "I never knew him well enough to know if he always had this sort of side to him... Nobody ever really knows what he's thinking. Nobody ever questions him..."

"So... _could it_ be my fault?" Priss asked with her lips quivering. He could see she was about to break out into another full sob just thinking about it, "That everything's been going so wrong? That he's acting the way it is? Am I doing something?"

Reiner was at a loss. It was very true that trouble only began brewing once she came into the picture at camp, but given he didn't know Zeke well _enough_ maybe he would have acted the way he had been if any lovely lady strolled into the picture or if his fixation was unique to Priscilla. Zeke was his boss, not his buddy, so there was no way to know for sure how he operated in terms of women. He could be certain of one thing: a man like Zeke should not be behaving the way he has been since Priss got there. He's their exalted military leader, a man of high intelligence and integrity... at least, that's what he thought until recently.

"He is responsible for his own behavior and should be able to have more self control," Reiner firmly believed these words he spoke, "It's not your fault he's being such a... such a..."

"A piece of shit?" Priss suggested.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Don't you think we should... teach him a lesson..." Priss' tone suddenly grew dark, "You beat him up pretty bad in that fight of yours. If you just... completely _obliterated_ his body like you were about to do, would he still regenerate? Could he survive being smashed into nothingness?"

Reiner looked at her in shock, "W-What?"

"Hmm... Oh! You could shift into your Titan and eat him! That would definitely work!" Priss went on excitedly, all traces of her woe disappearing and replaced with unsettling enthusiasm "If you can't kill him any other way, you can just eat him!"

"Uhh..." Reiner drawled, "I don't... think that's a good idea..."

"Why not?" Priss pressed. She clung hard to his shirt and stared wildly into his eyes.

"He's my boss... if I were to do that, things wouldn't end well for me..."

"If there was nobody around to witness it we could just make up anything we want for why you had to eat him, that it _had_ to be done," Priss went on, "You would make such a better leader than him, my love. You're strong, brave... but more importantly you have a good heart... not like him."

She ran her hand across his chest where she could feel his heart pounding beneath her palm. Priss looked down to watch her hand move along the contours of his muscular body that she could still feel even through his shirt.

"I think this is a bit extreme, Priss..." Reiner replied honestly, "He doesn't deserve to die."

Priscilla froze once those words hit her. After a moment of silence she looked back up to him and again her expression had changed. She looked a mixture of hollow and confused, then soon the hollowness disappeared and the confusion melted into despair once more. She bit her lower lip hard as she tried to hold back the intense emotions brewing inside her. She glanced away, unable to keep looking him in the eye after reflecting on everything she had just said.

"...Am I bad for wanting him to die?" She whispered shamefully as her body began to shiver, "I've always been like this... wanting those who have wronged me to just die. That man from all those years ago. Now Zeke. It's not right to be like this, is it? I... I just can't help myself."

Reiner could tell she had started to cry again despite her still having her face turned away from him – her sniffling and shaking was evidence enough of that.

"I don't think you're bad for wanting that," Reiner assured her, "The things or people we hate, it's not strange to feel that way about them."

"That's why you're here on this island, isn't it?" She murmured, "You hate the devils here, so you want to kill them all, but you seem to have some... higher purpose to it all. But me... I'm just a hateful little girl. I am a monster."

Reiner brought a hand to her face and turned her to look at him once more, "No, you're not, you're nothing close to that Priss!"

"You seem to be the only one who thinks that..." She wept, "Witch, evil bitch... not a goddess like you say. What kind of goddess would want to kill people?"

"Does it matter what anyone else says?!" He exclaimed in a desperate attempt to get her thinking straight, "Nobody knows you like I do. I've seen more of you than anyone else ever has. You're full of so much love and care and loyalty, things I don't think I deserve from you honestly... Bertolt and Zeke have no right doing or saying the things about you that they have... because they don't know you."

Her eyes wen wide and sparkled, "Reiner..."

"They'll never know you like I do, and I'll protect you from them or anyone else who mistreats you. They don't understand you and how wonderful you really are."

"And they don't deserve to," She added softly. The tears started to disappear from her eyes and she raised both her hands to hold his face, "You are... the only one. I will give you my everything, I'll never stop giving you every ounce of love I have to offer. I know you may not feel like you should get all that from me but... I swear that you do. You deserve it all and more. I'll give you my everything until my last days... and even after that. We'll meet again in Heaven and I'll keep making you happy there... Wherever it is that we meet again when our lives end, it's Heaven as long I'm with you."

Reiner's lacking self worth was at odds with his love for her and wanting more than anything to accept it from her, but he was in an unending struggle with his own mind. He didn't know if he could ever let go of all he had done that lead to her being hurt. This is what made her such a goddess and not a monster, her forgiveness for the pain he had caused her and love for him was without bounds. For her sake, and his as well, he needed to work harder to put aside his negative feelings about himself... if that one person who cared so deeply for him and him alone wouldn't abandon him for all he'd done, who took the good with the bad without wavering in her dedication to him... then he should take that to heart and never question it. It wouldn't be easy for him to overcome his own issues with self esteem, but as long as he had her then he could conquer anything.

Her eyes started to water again, so he brought his hands to hold her face just as she did so he could thumb away the tears that slowly spilled out. They weren't tears of sorrow anymore, the strong bond between them had her overwhelmed and she couldn't help but hold those tears of love flow.

"I love you," He whispered. Reiner leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "I love you so much."

Priss looked into his stunning gold eyes once he pulled back from his sweet little kiss, unable to hold back more tears of happiness as she struggled to choke out her words, "I-I love you too Reiner, more than anything."

The two threw themselves at one another and held each other in a strong embrace. More tears of hers stained his shirt, but he didn't mind one bit, and he went back to stroking her shiny and smooth hair once more. As they held one another they both could feel their hearts beating hard in time with one another. Her slender white fingers made their way to the buttons on his shirt where she delicately started to undo them.

"I want to feel your skin on mine again," He heard her whisper as she made her way from button to button until his shirt was completely open, allowing her to push the fabric back and let it slide off his shoulders. Curiously, she was already fully undressed – something he hadn't noticed at all until she mentioned feeling each other skin to skin.

Reiner laid back and she followed, laying on top of him in a way so that their hearts were as close to touching as they could possibly be. The skin, bone and muscle that made up their bodies felt nonexistent with how in time with each other and intensely their hearts were beating. In that moment it was clear that they were not two separate hearts, but the same heart shared between two people that were born to find one another.

* * *

Once she had coped with with overwhelming emotions that sprang from reading what her father had written about her brother, Priscilla idly began flipping through another musty old book, a physiology one again. She of course chose to steer clear of anything close to how reproduction worked, she'd had more than enough of that.

"Hm?"

The very first section was one about 'Inherent Lunar Abilities' that existed withing all Hyperians, described as 'one of the gifts bestowed upon them by the Goddess.' Priscilla's brow furrowed over what the hell this could be about. Some nonsense about gaining strength from the moon sounded like a bunch of religious mumbo jumbo that would be expected from a society worshiping deities as heavily as hers seemed to, but the fact that something like it was mentioned in what was a text documenting something medical had her intrigued. So instead of dismissing it, she read on...

 _Our people being all connected with Goddess Priska has allowed her grace to always watch over us in the form of moonlight. Should a Hyperian fall ill, merely a few hours of lunar exposure will lead them to a full recovery._

A few rudimentary illustrations were included to go along with the text, such as a person laying beneath the moon with beams emanating from it to demonstrate the lunar light shining on them.

"I don't know about this," Priss muttered doubtfully. She skipped around on the subject a bit until something caught her eye.

 _Should a Hyperian find themselves without food or water for an extended period of time, all that they need to keep them alive is moonlight. A full night of it will allow them to subsist through an entire day. They will not be in peak condition, but it will keep them alive. Moonlight can increase a Hyperian's strength and abilities in general._

Priscilla's mind went back to the time she spent wandering outside the wall. She had gone without any food or water, something that should have killed her. But she had moonlight exposure on the long trek before she was found by the Armored Titan. Flashbacks of other instances flooded back to her: being able to carry Reiner when he was injured, how she awakened and bit Zeke's fingers off, how she found being under it's light to be so effective at shifting her mood from negative to positive in some way. Just before when she went from having little to no exposure to full exposure, how she felt changed dramatically. She found herself carrying the heavy crate just fine when she was under the light of the moon in the clearing, but once she entered her home it was as painfully heavy as it was when she was trudging through the forested area.

She was rendered speechless for a few minutes as her brain raced around thinking of every single time something within her changed when she'd be hit by the moon when something very interesting occurred to her.

"Titans get their power from the sun," She said quietly, "They don't need food or water... but they can't move at night at all."

The latter was mostly true, except for those 'special cases' Reiner had mentioned that involved Zeke specifically transforming them. This new discovery added further support to the ideal that she, a child of the moon, was a being who was designed to oppose the Titans and by extension the Eldians themselves.

* * *

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Bertolt froze as he stood behind Priscilla. Her tone was one of disgust and for no conceivable reason either, like all that she was pissed off about was him just existing. Literally all he had been doing was standing there while she had her back to him. Her posture was rigid, as if poised to attack if she so desired.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." A meek Bertolt responded.

"Don't play stupid, you're ogling my ass," She spat as she turned around, "I can't say I blame you, I know it's nice, but I'd respect you a little bit if you were straightforward about it."

"What?!" He exclaimed, floored by her unapologetic arrogance, "You are just a terrible person... that's all you are, an evil witch... you made Reiner lose sight of our mission and now you've gone and cursed Warchief Zeke too! ...I hate you... You're more of a devil than those on this island!"

"Aw, your words are so hurtful..." She sarcastically said with a pout. She started slowly moving towards him, eventually getting uncomfortably close, "Are you jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous?!" He shouted back at her, but his raised voice didn't rattle her at all,

"I'm the pretty girl stealing all the attention..." She giggled, "Although somehow I doubt you were ever the center of attention. You're not very memorable, you don't stand out at all. So would you really care if I stole something that was never yours to begin with? Poor quiet Bertolt, always in the background, never getting the spotlight for anything... being jealous he's not getting the attention? You're content to blend in, keep your head down and do what you're told. You don't care about being seen."

Bertolt remained as firm and calm as he could in an attempt to control the wrath building in him, "You're nothing to me but an annoyance, a problem that needs to be taken care of..."

Priss scoffed and crossed her arms, "That's exactly what Zeke says too and... well, just look at the sad state of him..."

Without a word Bertolt grabbed her tightly by the neck and squeezed hard. He wanted to crush her windpipe and finally kill her like he'd so wanted to, but not just kill her, he wanted to make her suffer first so he had to restrain himself from breaking her neck immediately. As he choked her, feeling her struggle to breath under his hands, he looked down and saw flames in the campfire still blazing. Bertolt threw her onto the ground and before she had any sort of chance to get away, he forced her down on her stomach and grabbed her by the hair.

"This is what a witch like you deserves! To burn!" He screamed as he pulled her head up and then smashed it into the fire. He heard her start to scream in agony while she writhed beneath him. He held her down, pushing her head as hard as he could into the flames, "You... Are worse than just a witch... You're the devil itself... You've ruined us all... I can't let you live because who knows what else you'll ruin for us..."

She kept on crying out in pain and thrashing about, but his size and the positional advantage he had over her was too much for her to fight. Soon enough, her cries quieted and she went motionless. The blood thirsty Bertolt pulled her from the embers and looked upon her destroyed face with pride – no longer was he a passive observer, he had enough of that, so he took it upon himself to remove the problem that nobody else wanted to touch. Just to really get all his rage out, he snapped her neck and let her body drop to the ground with a thud. Totally lifeless.

Finally. Finally free of her evil aura. Finally able to move forward smoothly. Bertolt turned away to go back to his tent when he heard a disturbing noise behind him.

"Urgh...haa...haha..."

He whipped back around and saw the body of Priscilla rising once more. Her neck was clearly broken as her head lolled off to the side limply and her face... to say it was a mess was an understatement. The burning destroyed it beyond recognition, the worst part of it being that her eyes were totally obliterated leaving nothing but empty, disgusting sockets that blood dripped out of. Bertolt gawked at the gruesome sight before him.

"You think you can get rid of me that easily?" She growled like an animal, "I'm not going _anywhere_."

* * *

Morning had just barely come. The sun hadn't even risen but Zeke Yeager was awake – he needed to be so that preparations for the coming battle could be made. Nobody was in the tent with him and his glasses were exactly where he left them. The man should have known better than to think what happened was anything more than a dream, but it felt so real that it seemed more plausible that it did really occur. Although if he spent his night _truly_ engaging with Priscilla he wouldn't have an unfortunate mess in his trousers, that would have ended up elsewhere – thankfully Pieck had brought with her fresh clothing for all the Warriors when she last came so he at least could change into something else before facing the world.

Outside he saw Reiner and Bertolt emerge at the same time as he did. Bertolt had an uneasy look about him and his pallor was sickly while Reiner's expression was harder to read – it was made even more difficult due to the fact that he wouldn't look directly at Zeke. There was some strange sense of knowing that flowed between the three men there. It was a long shot, but something in his gut told the Warchief that he wasn't the only one who had a familiar visitor in his dreams...


	20. Chapter XV: The Call For Liberty

**A/N: yyyooooooooo we hit 4k views ya'll and I wanted to share a picture that compiled just a small amount of non-writing content from the Prissner Creative Universe (henceforth known as the PCU) as thanks... but I'm having trouble linking it. Maybe I'd be able to do it as a PM in response to a review. One day I would be thrilled to share the PCU content that extends beyond the written story, but we're not there yet sadly. There's tons of stuff though and the library of it grows every single day. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.**

 **Chapter XV: The Call For Liberty**

 _"once the evil men have been rebuked, condemned to the fierce flames, call me with the blessed."_

The morning sun was slowly crawling towards the horizon, soon to start illuminating the district where the Warriors would face their decisive battle later that day, provided Pieck's intel about where the Scouts were located was correct. Regardless, it was wise to be prepared for their battle at any moment. A fresh pot of coffee was brewed and the Warriors sat around it in total silence. Reiner and Bertolt's eyes were fixed on the kettle while Zeke's gaze shifted between the two of them.

Zeke knew it was on him to break the silence, so he cleared his throat and began, "I see nobody wants to volunteer to share."

Bertolt didn't take his eyes off the coffee pot as he spoke his timid response, "Is there any reason to?"

"I can't have my brave Warriors heading into battle distracted by their bad dreams," Zeke reasoned, "I need you both to have clear heads."

"What about you?" Reiner asked, actually looking up to him, "If you had a strange dream about her like we did, then shouldn't you get it off your chest to clear your own mind?"

"Hm? Giving me orders now, Reiner?" Zeke questioned with dangerous amusement as he reached over to scratch his opposite ear. He saw Reiner gulp hard and his eyes went wide as if he made a huge mistake, but Zeke followed up with a surprising acceptance, "No, I see where you're coming from. Lead by example. Follow my own advice..."

Reiner had started to hold his breath after he posed his last question but now he felt it was safe to release it. He had to wonder if Zeke's first comment was him sincerely being annoyed and he only 'corrected' himself to keep tensions low before their critical battle was at hand. Reducing how tense things were there was the goal of Zeke's recent choice to send Priss away after all, so it was believable he'd continue to do whatever it took to maintain their sense of duty for the sake of the mission.

However, the leader of the group wasn't keen on sharing what he had seen in his personal realm of sleep. He figured that his underlings were not going to question what he told them though, so he went ahead and shamelessly twisted the truth for the sake of jump starting the conversation, "She was her usual self to me. Loud, crass, accusatory for no reason. I ended up shifting into my Titan and eating her, but even as I brought her to my mouth she didn't break down into fear. She just went on berating me. The only thing that silenced her was crushing her between my teeth..."

"Mine was similar," Bertolt chimed in; Zeke's own willingness to volunteer gave him the encouragement he needed to join the discussion, "She was so hostile when I hadn't said or done anything. She claimed I had feelings for her to try and get a rise out of me... then she mocked me for not being very... memorable."

"Acting true to life for you as well I see," Said Zeke. He reached out to the pot and poured a cup of the steaming hot coffee into his mug, "Anything else?"

"Y-Yes," Bertolt confirmed. Zeke passed the pot to him and he took it to pour some for himself, "I killed her. I burned her face in the campfire and broke her neck, I thought it was a fitting death for a witch like her..."

"You're quite correct about that actually. In less civilized times, women who were suspected of being witches were burned at the stake or hanged, so it seems your dream was somewhat historically accurate..." Zeke was oddly entertained by this notion, and his tone obviously reflected that. The other two Warriors found his digression strange and Zeke quickly noticed their puzzled stares, "Ah, sorry about that. Couldn't help myself. Go on."

"Right..." Bertolt murmured. He passed along the pot to Reiner before continuing, "But once I killed her she just got right back up. I had felt so good after I thought I'd ended her, but she just won't stay down. She won't... just go away..."

While Reiner found it unsettling that both Bertolt and Zeke had similarly themed dreams, he was more disturbed by the violent and personal nature in how Bertolt murdered Priscilla. To eat someone in Titan form was one thing, it was quick and lacked a personal connection – but Bertolt made her suffer first by savagely burning her before giving her what he thought would be the finishing blow of breaking her neck.

"...She was just upset in mine," Reiner spoke once he pulled himself out of his thoughts on Bertolt's brutality, "Upset to the point that she suggested I... take your place, Warchief Zeke."

"You mean kill me?" Zeke added in immediately.

Reiner blew on his hot coffee for a brief stall, "Yes, sir."

"What an absolute _gem_ she is," Zeke added flatly. He brought his drink to his lips and sipped, but it was far too hot still and he was burned for his foolishness, causing Zeke to flinch and curse under his breath. Being a shifter though, a burnt tongue would easily fix itself right away.

"But she expressed honest remorse over feeling that way," Reiner continued and blew on his coffee again before he took a cautious sip to ensure he wouldn't make the same mistake Zeke just did, "But after that things were just romantic between us. I don't think that's important to either of you though."

Zeke was suddenly right back in his own dream where he was the one getting treated so lovingly by Priscilla. His experience was closer to Reiner's than Bertolt's, but he could never openly admit to that. What benefit would it offer to let Reiner know anyway? He told himself that it would only raise tensions once more... and on top of that, there was the _one thing_ that he definitely couldn't share. It would be bad enough sharing the erotic as well as romantic elements, but there was something that the other two weren't aware of about him that came up in his dream.

" _I know about you."_

The Warchief's eyes glazed over as he vividly recalled it.

" _How you're..."_

Even if it was a product of his own mind and had no basis in reality, the fact that those words came out of her pretty mouth was unsettling all the same.

" _ **A royal**."_

All things considered he had a pretty great time in his subconscious romp, but that brief moment will always be what stuck out the most in his memory; it was the most 'off' thing about it all, and there was a _whole_ _lot_ 'off' throughout that dream, but he could (and did) brush most of it aside for his personal satisfaction... but her saying she knew he was of royal descent lingered with him more than any of the divine pleasure she had provided.

However, thinking back to his dream at all lead to it's entire contents flooding back to him in explicit detail. Having such erotic imagery dancing through his head would be detrimental to focusing if the associated feelings were left unresolved. The best way to describe what needed to be done was to 'get the poison out.' Being unable to rid that from his system would leave him in the worst position of them all if he didn't do something.

"You seen more distracted than either of us, sir..." Reiner spoke up when he noticed Zeke zoning out.

"Hm..." Zeke hummed, reaching up and scratching his ear again, "Astute observation, Reiner. I'll take care of it though. Go and ready yourselves."

* * *

It was now midday, meaning there was enough light coming through the house's windows to do a little poking around. Priss made her way through her kitchen where she delved through drawers and cabinets to look for matches and candles. The various furnishings that were closer to what Marley had (according to Zeke anyway) were still very unusual to her, even in their nonfunctional state, so she didn't even bother to tinker with them. After going through several drawers she finally pulled one open that put a smile on her face.

"Aha!" She cheered upon finally finding what she was looking for. She grabbed the candles and matches to keep nearby in case she found herself in need of them, but her moment of triumph was interrupted by a deep rumbling in her stomach that was so loud it was almost embarrassing despite her being alone.

 _...Definitely time for a snack_ , she thought.

Priss swiftly returned to the living room and tore into the box of supplies. The food provided by Zeke was just more of those bland field rations while the only drink was water. It wasn't exciting or appetizing, but it had to do. She grabbed a ration, removed it's packaging and took a big bite. While she was quite aware that her exposure to moonlight would keep her sustained, Priss figured she needed to do more than merely _subsist_ since she had a precious life growing inside her. Who knows how much her own ability could transfer to her fetus anyway, especially considering it was only 1/3rd Hyperian on top of it not getting direct exposure to the light of the moon.

The science of the moon beams and their effects were a mystery to her, but it was not information she wanted to legitimately pursue so she was content with wondering about it just to keep her mind busy. Absorption via the skin? But was that all? Perhaps it somehow made it to her blood stream after passing through her skin? For a member of this supposedly glorious race who were meant to be a direct opposing force to Titans, this whole synthesizing energy from a form of natural light was awfully similar to how they functioned as well.

"Sun and moon..." She said while she chewed, sending crumbs falling from her lips and onto her shirt, "Silver and gold..."

As she pondered the broad implications, Priscilla patted her stomach and looked down, "So what will that make you? A star?" She cooed softly as her mouth curled into a smile, "Yeah, of course... you'll be our little star!"

Priss had quickly finished her not so delicious snack and washed it down with a swig of water. She looked back into the box and craved another ration, not because it was tasty but because her stomach wasn't satisfied yet, but she denied herself the urge to eat more. For now anyway. Having just spoken to her unborn son, Priscilla started to fall into continuing her future family fantasy that she began dreaming up the previous night; It was a quick and easy method of uplifting her mood, as long as she could reasonably navigate around the reality of the situation.

Finding the balance between indulging in her escapism and accepting the eventual truth of it was a tricky thing. If she built it up too much in her mind then it'd make the inescapable tragedy even harder to deal with than it already was, but as long as she didn't outright reject it and live in a delusion, was it really so bad to have a little fun? Enjoyable things were hard to find where she was now, so she had to make her own happiness in any way she could.

* * *

As preparations were being made, Reiner's head was clouded with worry. Opening up about his dream did nothing to ease his mind – nothing could accomplish that now. Pieck had recently returned from her scouting mission and informed them that the enemy forces were very close at this point, so he and Bertolt had geared up while Zeke ventured outside the Wall to wait with his legion of buried Eldians to transform once their battle began. Once Bertolt had equipped himself, he joined their Warchief along with the Cart Titan.

But his anxieties wouldn't leave Reiner be. Was Priss alright? Did she have enough to eat and drink? Was she getting enough rest? What if there was some unseen danger lurking in an area of Hyperia they hadn't explored together? The place was huge and they only went through a comparatively small part of it in their brief investigation; for all he knew Priss just stuck to where they already ventured but he couldn't help but worry something could happen to her. She had no means to defend herself since they had no spare weapons or ODM gear to give her on the off chance there was something she'd need to fight against there.

"I can't let myself be so distracted... not now..." He said through gritted teeth as he situated himself in the hollow hiding spot in the wall, "But..."

Priscilla's face flashed through his mind in an assortment of different emotions – From her loving smiles, tear stained cheeks, gazes of lusty longing and everything in between. He had to get through this and get back to her. He had to succeed at this mission and return home so he could give his future wife everything he promised her and more... but if he couldn't get his head in the game, he was far less likely to make it out of this alive.

But how could he keep her out of his mind completely?

Reiner also had to wonder what would become of her if he didn't live through this. Zeke still seemed intent on bringing her to Marley so whether Reiner was with them or not didn't matter – it was a guarantee that she wouldn't be abandoned on Paradis and he was thankful for that, but a whole different world awaited her across the ocean, and who knows what kind of things his Warchief would pursue if Reiner were out of the picture. He told himself she was capable enough to stand against Zeke, and he believed that, but what would leave her most vulnerable would be the massive culture shock of seeing what the world outside her little island was like... and having nobody she was comfortable with to guide her through this new world would only make that worse.

He had to get back to her for so many reasons, but he couldn't get lost in thinking about them now. With the Warriors all in position, all they had to do was play the waiting game until the Scouts arrived and they could commence the operation to retake The Founding Titan.

* * *

She still wasn't completely satisfied with her 'meal' but Priss remained steadfast in limiting herself to just the one ration for the time being. She stood up and stretched with a loud groan, followed by her arms flopping back down to her sides as she made her way to the nearest window. She glanced quickly to her sack of books and then back outside; her mind wandered to where a nice place to go would be since sitting in her old house wasn't exciting – not that there was much thrill to be garnered _anywhere_ in the city, but it would be better than being all cooped up. The girl grabbed her bag, slid her boots on and left the house.

While it wasn't as nice outside as it was during the night, it was still pleasant enough compared to being shut indoors; of course she knew now that there was an unusual supernatural reason for the night time hours being preferable to her, so the fact that things weren't as refreshing now made sense – As much sense as an otherworldly concept like receiving strength from the moon could anyway. It would be so laughable to anyone else, but she had enough proof from her own experiences to believe it. As she thought about it she started to wonder just how enhanced her strength could be. Reiner was over 200lbs yet she lifted and carried him on the cold winter night, she also remembered overpowering Zeke to the point of holding him down when he clearly should have been able to gain the upper hand quickly in that scenario.

Priscilla snickered at the idea of seeing just how easily she could lift Reiner and carry him around for fun or even something ridiculous like how far she could throw Zeke if he pissed her off enough. She did recall her carrying of Reiner to still be a strain so she concluded that she couldn't ever _effortlessly_ just pick him up. The light of the moon wasn't giving her superpowers, but just boosts to make sure she could manage something she otherwise couldn't – and it tended to be during times of dire need or accompanied by some surge of emotion, as if this power was more of a failsafe for survival than a latent ability to call upon to be a total badass at will like Titan shifting.

….Still, the idea of grabbing and throwing men bigger than her around for various reasons was really amusing.

Priscilla didn't even notice where her feet were taking her since she was getting lost in the fun ideas of 1) throwing Reiner onto a bed and aggressively mounting him in a sex or cuddle frenzy and 2) throwing Zeke down onto a hard surface as roughly as she could – would be a nice bit of payback for him pushing her to the ground. Bonus points if she broke some of his bones. Her aimless wandering ended up leading her back to the giant statue of the sleeping goddess; the deity that was her namesake. It was undeniably an impressive piece of art, but like so many things here, she had no sentimental connection to this central figure to her previous society.

She made her way to the base of the statue and sat down with her back against it for support. Instead of picking something at random like she had done in the past, she sought out something a bit more specific.. and one thing was for sure: she had enough of that journal, so she chose to delve into the book on Hyperia's history instead.

The book was thick and intimidating for a girl like her – as in someone who wasn't into casual research and taking in knowledge for leisure. Priss scowled as she opened it up and was met first with a beautiful illustration of their Goddess that spread across two pages. It was an almost identical depiction as the statue she was propped up against now: laying on the ground on her side where she looked at peace.

Such a benevolent expression would prove puzzling with the words that followed.

 _Our people were born from the body of our progenitor, Priska of the moon, in the age of the old Gods. She was cast out by the Heavenly Father for consorting with the Devil of Earth – an unforgivable sin. She was stripped of her divinity and her children were bestowed with the righteous task of opposing the Devil's 'offspring' it may someday produce. Bound in this forest, the tears of despair that the goddess wept formed the purified bodies of water and rivers that flow through Hyperia. As her body decayed, our people sprang forth from it with all of us containing a piece of her within us. We are the 'above humans,' this is what the word Hyperian means, to be above all others._

Priscilla scoffed at the pompous absurdity of the name's origin, "What a bunch of assholes!"

Since this remained her only known option for staying occupied, she was glad to find some sort of amusement in what she was reading, dark as it may be. The fun she found in it faded as she thought back to the goddess and her serene expression in the works of art she'd seen of her – why has she been depicted as such when her circumstances sounded so unpleasant? Cast out for sinning, stripped of her godliness and crying until her body broke down over time resulting in a race of supposed pseudo-divine Ubermensch...

 _The first generation chronicled the history of our creation as they had a close enough connection to our source of life to be imbued with that knowledge, and while that would be lost over time as generations went on, the divinity would still exist within us all. The ancient knowledge would remain in sacred texts that only the powerful governing council had access to. Our interconnection allows us to maintain an intangible link on a psychic level, so the strong governing members used this ability to suppress ancient knowledge of our purpose to oppose the Devils to allow our society to flourish blissfully. It would be many ages before the Devil spawned the Titans, but our reason for existence was etched in the stars since our genesis. The future descendants of the Devil were marked as who we were destined to keep in place, or even destroy if we must, should their demonic ways lead them to subjugate the world as such savage beasts would._

 _We remained hidden when the King and his Eldian refugees first came to Paradis, which we had previously explored to some extent, after they saw defeat at the hands of other nations before we chose to act. We built several supply outposts but these saw little use before we shut ourselves back within our city when the Devil's children came. Titans will not approach us, they will not harm us. It is the inherited weakness from the Devil of Earth's love for our Goddess, but due to the curse put on her by the Heavenly Father the offspring of Priska were forbidden to form any sort of relationship with the Eldians. The curse extended down to our very biology. While it is historically called a 'curse' we have come to see it as a blessing, to be the chosen champions to strike down the devils should they threaten the world._

Priss slammed her head against the hard stone she sat against. A gut wrenching revelation set in that she didn't even consider prior to seeing these words: the realization that her people, and thus she herself, only existed for a hateful purpose. These people came to hail their reason for existence as a blessing due to their perceived superiority over Eldians – or even _everyone_ , but their specific enemy ultimately was the Eldians. They were beings born from punishment and spite who were engineered to destroy; living, breathing weapons.

All at once the people who were targets of her own personal hatred appeared in her mind – those who she'd not think twice about if they died or who she actively wished harm upon. She let a man die with no remorse, she resented everyone who judged her for committing a crime against humanity, she had no positive feelings towards Bertolt and was apathetic at _best_... but most of all she would have been thrilled to see Reiner kill Zeke; she was so blinded be her hatred in that moment that she wouldn't have stopped him from doing so because her selfish spite kept her from seeing beyond that moment and how bad it would ultimately be for Reiner.

"Is my anger all I that am?" She murmured.

She sat there and wondered if this is how she always would be; if she had any sort of chance to better herself, or if hate was so embedded in her very blood that there was no hope for her to be a better person.

...But did any of the people she felt utter disdain for, past or present, deserve any sort of forgiveness? Delving into her reasons for why she held such negative feelings made her start to sink back into not having any guilt for her actions, thoughts or desires. She was caught in a suffocating uncertainty if how she felt was justified or not in being so angered by others who wronged her to any degree.

Without the reassurance from Reiner that she wasn't bad it was hard to dispel the doubt brewing inside of her. If she was inherently evil, was it even possible for her to become good if her very existence was based in ancient malice? But this idea spread further than just her now: she would be passing along part of herself to her son in the future that wasn't all that far off. The thought that this tiny being could possibly carry on an age old inescapable hatred was soul crushing. This realization didn't make her feel any different about the baby himself, but rather a sense of guilt over an innocent child being burdened with anger engraved in his soul.

She looked back down to the book and saw an illustration of the Devil of Earth standing before Priska, who dwarfed it in size. There was a clear contrast between the two beings: the Devil was twisted and ugly while Priska was elegant and beautiful. Beneath the image were the following words:

 _The Devil had a deep longing and love for her, someone who had showed it kindness despite it's ugliness, and the most sinful part of her consorting with the Devil was that she had love for it too. The Heavenly Father made it so their descendants could never be together just like his daughter and the Devil were not allowed to be together._

"Punished for loving someone she wasn't supposed to love...?" Priss said to herself.

Priscilla started rapidly flipping pages to move forward through the history, the whole dynamic the the Goddess and Devil was starting to strike a very unpleasant nerve in her – given how it directly tied into how Hyperians and Eldians, and thus she and Reiner, are forbidden to be together. After her frantic page turning she stopped on a random section.

 _Until the day of reckoning comes, we will live here in prosperity. Nobody outside the governing council shall need to know of the Eldians or Titans until we must take action. We are everything any other race could ever hope to be and more. Peaceful, crime free with a focus on arts and sciences while still keeping the faith in our Goddess strong, because she is ultimately what gave us our power and we must forever be grateful for the gifts she's given us, along with the ones bestowed by the Heavenly Father. All must be balanced: art, science and faith._

 _Trouble arose for the first time when people's faith began to fall to the wayside. It was a minority of our society, but it was growing in the shadows all the same – and the governing members knew this could only lead to ruin if we were to shirk faith, one of our core pillars of society. And right we were, because birth rates began to decline. Those who had started to drift away from the faith that gave us life were branded heretics and were marked as the ones at fault, displeasing our Gods was the only answer as to why we were being punished in such a way. Thus the heretical women were burned while the men of these blasphemous groups were offered absolution. Once this short lived deviation was stomped out, birth rates rose to normal again, confirming that balancing our faith in our Gods along with our other pillars was key to our survival._

"Why kill only the women if the men were seen as heretics too...?" She furrowed her brow.

Again she started rapidly skipping chunks of pages. Her patience was growing thin for this task but her frantic rush through the book came grinding to a halt when she saw the words "Human Sacrifice" in large letters at the top of a page. Her eyes lingered on the two words for a while, fixated on why this was a subject again since she'd already gone through the bit about burning female heretics. It was frightening to think it went even further, but that fear did not deter her curiosity...

 _When birth rates started declining again we began the practice of sacrificing the weaker females. Things didn't start out so alarming but based on the fact that this wasn't the first time in our history that births began declining, we chose to act immediately. The woman who was chosen was incredibly honored since she had lost her purpose of providing children, thus making her a weak and objectively useless member of our race. With being chosen for sacrifice she was providing a service to strengthen the other women by allowing the consumption of-_

Priscilla let out a shriek and threw the book away from her when she saw the accompanying imagery: the woman being sacrificed laid out with several other women standing around her and feeding on her internal organs. She didn't see or read the details beyond that they were consuming the chosen one, but her brief glance at the picture made it look like the sacrificed female was still alive based on her face... she only caught a brief glimpse of it, but the face on the 'chosen' appeared to be on of jubilation.

There was a disturbing running theme that was all too apparent now: women were the cause of the Hyperian's problems and they were the ones who thus took all the blame, yet they were continuously depicted as not even objecting. From the Goddess always looking happy or content despite her tragic lore, to women chosen to be killed and eaten while feeling honor and joy. Priss felt like she was descending further and further into a nightmare, but for this to be a mere nightmare would be a blessing since she could at least wake up to something better. A perfect society with no crime, a love of art and with science falling into barbaric rituals in a desperate attempt to appease their Gods – and their heinous attempts at appeasing the divines they were so dedicated to didn't even work. It was all so tragic, but it only made her angry.

The pale girl grunted as she stood up, grabbing her bag of items and then marching over to pick up the book she had just thrown. A renewed rage rose within her accompanied by burning ambition: the desire to remove this history from ever being learned of again. She couldn't erase what she already knew, but she could stop it from ever getting to someone else. She didn't have to tell anyone... And she didn't have to learn anymore either.

She marched home and grabbed the matches she found earlier and she brought them outside where she emptied the things from the bag. Priscilla knelt down and pushed the books closer together, as close as they could get, before she struck a match and dropped it onto the tomes that had been haunting her with their dreadful knowledge ever since she found them. She rose to her feet as the fire spread gradually to each book: the journal, the history, the science and the others she hadn't read... but off to the side she saw the unicorn toy. Her expression softened and she reached down and picked it up. It was soft, cute and vibrant as any children's toy would be. She thought about how much she must have loved it in her youth, probably carried it everywhere and slept with it clutched close to her chest every night... But that wasn't really true at all. Her eyes narrowed as she realized that this item was just as bad as the rest that was burning. _Adrestia_ loved that toy. _Adrestia_ carried it everywhere and slept with it every night. It was not Priscilla's beloved plush, it was _Adrestia's._

"...This is nothing to me," She spat and tossed the toy into the pyre along with the ancient knowledge. If she were to sever the ties to this place, everything had to go.

There was a slight pang in her chest in watching something so cute and innocent burn up in the blaze, but what she more strongly felt was a sense of liberation. To carry that unicorn with her would act as a constant reminder of the person she _once_ was and could have possibly grown into. She was not "Adrestia," the highborn daughter of a leading member of Hyperia who was their last hope at saving them all – whoever that stranger was effectively died long ago when she was still a child. The person she was _now_ was what mattered, and she refused to start moving backwards. She was going to keep going forward, just as she had been.

"I'm Priscilla Zi..." She stopped right away having realized what she was about to say wasn't exactly accurate either, only about half right, but it didn't take her long to proclaim her correct identity, "I am Priscilla _Braun_... nobody else."

The blazing fire consumed all she had fed to it. The books turned to ash and the plush toy was unrecognizable in how the flames twisted and melted it. The material the toy was made of created a very unpleasant smell as it burned compared to the paper and book bindings which made her want to get far away from it. Just to ensure nothing got out of control, Priss kicked some dirt onto the fire and stomped on it a bit to try and put it out, or at least reduce it to a level where it would fizzle out soon on it's own.

But what was a girl to do now? She destroyed the little accessible busywork she had, but it didn't take long for an idea to strike her. The sources of water here were apparently pure and goddamn did she feel like she needed a bit of purification... And so she walked along the river where she sought out a depth she found suitable for her needs. She stopped at the river bank once it appeared that it was about waist-deep; a depth that would work just fine for bathing. Her hands got to work undoing the buttons of her shirt that was in need of being washed. Everything was terrible, but at least her hygiene was one of those unfortunate things she could do something about.

"Ungh... It's all so dirty."

One piece of clothing after another came off and dropped to the ground until she was down to nothing. Once everything was off, she gathered her clothes and brought them to the water; it wouldn't be a full-on proper wash since she had no soap but she would settle for a rinse. Priscilla knelt down and began to soak her shirt, holding it submerged for a few seconds and then lifted it again so she could wring the water out. Before proceeding with the rest of her clothes she found a tree nearby that had branches low enough for her to hang the wet shirt on to dry. She repeated this process with her pants, socks and finally her underwear.

Priscilla returned to the river once all the items were hung to dry and she began wading out into it. The cold water made her shiver the more of her body it consumed, but the shock of it was strangely refreshing.

She chuckled darkly, "Bless the tears of the goddess, huh?" She didn't realize right away what she had just said, but when she did she grimaced and abruptly dunked her head under the water.

 _Why would I say something like that?_

After a moment of lingering beneath the surface she threw her head back, sending droplets of water flying from her hair behind her.

 _Was I joking?_

She brought her hand up to her opposite arm and began to rub it as a way to lightly scrub herself.

 _Yeah, just a joke. That's all._

* * *

"Managed to escape death this time, Reiner..." Zeke coughed.

Reiner's mangled body was held in the Cart Titan's mouth as Zeke rode atop it's head like it were his steed. Zeke had been weakened by his confrontation with Levi but he was in far better shape than Reiner was after the battle at Shiganshina. Bertolt had not been lucky enough to escape and thus they had lost the Colossal Titan to the enemy forces – and losing one of Marley's shifters was bad enough, but the real crime was that they didn't retake the Founding Titan. The Paradis Island Operation was a complete and utter failure.

...At least, that's how the Marleyan government would see it. The Warriors would face scrutiny and punishment, but Zeke knew that he'd be coming out of all this just fine in the long run. It would have been preferable to take it back to Marley, but the Founding Titan was not something he himself needed.

Not as long as he had _that girl._

He had to maintain his act of a devoted Warrior to Marley and play the long game that he had started 10 years ago with her brother. Thinking back to that time brought Zeke to memories of his mentor, the one he inherited the Beast Titan from. He made a promise to him and he could only hope the path he chose to reach the end goal would satisfy his father figure, even if it wasn't exactly what he would have had in mind when it came to methods.

"Just wait here," Zeke commanded as he dismounted the Cart titan outside the grand forest where Priscilla was waiting. He threw on his long coat before departing to pick up the haunting temptress hidden away in isolation. Reiner was in no shape to retrieve her – his body was far too damaged for him to move at all, even the simple act of talking was a struggle for him. He was in the process of regenerating, but it was slower than usual due to the multiple brutal injuries he sustained in the battle.

Zeke was in good enough shape to walk at this point as he had an easier time with his regeneration than his subordinate – his wounds in battle weren't as severe. The time spent traveling from the Wall to this place gave him time to regain enough strength to complete the simple task of picking the girl up... and ever the curious man he was, Zeke was interested in seeing this city for himself, even if briefly.


	21. Chapter XVI: The Baneful Queen

**A/N: I have set up some social media pages where I will post stuff about WB (mostly the memes, teasers, plus updates so I don't have to put a chapter up here just for an update on potential delays), I'll put the usernames in my profile, but there's not much there yet lol. Anyway enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Chapter XVI: The Baneful Queen**

It would be magnificent to see such a strange society that Zeke had heard about from his cohort, he had been told time and time again how perfect it was there – a mixture of advancing technology and artful antiquity with an ever present link to nature; it sounded like everything was balanced in an incomparably ideal way – so much so that it was unfathomable to Zeke for such a place to exist with what his experience had been in the world he knew.

The only world he knew was a cruel one; a world incredibly far from perfect. So the idea that this place was once, and there was no other word to describe it, a paradise... was foreign.

The Warchief kept his anticipation in check as he made his way through the surrounding forest; he knew that the place had to be merely a shell of it's former self at this point. It was abandoned for ten years now and it would be far from it's pristine peak, and to expect anything else would be foolish. However, he was still quite impressed once he finally got to the city, despite how it had degraded naturally over the years. The society's devotion to art was evident immediately upon seeing the statue of the resting goddess. Seeing the all white monument with it's long hair and a faint glint of green gemstones visible in the eyes brought to mind the girl he was there for, which was hardly surprising.

Zeke may be a curious man, but now was a time for practicality and punctuality given they needed to escape to the seaport as fast as they could so he couldn't linger or take a leisurely stroll to sight-see like he were some kind of tourist. There was one single thing to be done in Hyperia: retrieve Priscilla and get going. The only problem with that was he didn't know where she was. He looked down to the ground to see if there was any disturbed earth to indicate where she had traveled. There wasn't really anything he could specifically identify as footprints, but there was something he did find interesting: small patches of flowers growing in a pattern that it was as if they followed, or perhaps _formed_ , some sort of path. It was a long shot, but the man chose to follow these possible breadcrumbs – as wild of an idea as it was that a path of flowers would guide him, but it's not like he had much else to go on. It was either this or wander aimlessly with the hope he'd come across her.

As he went along with the path of flowers, the trail brought him to a river; It didn't take him long to find his target, but he did not expect to find her how she was. He discovered her standing with his back to him in a sparkling river where she appeared to be working knots out of her wet hair. He stood and watched in silence, soon hearing her sigh with content after finishing the task of untangling her long hair. Her posture straightened and she raised one hand to her hair where she gripped it tightly and started to wring it out.

But before she could squeeze her way down, she froze for a moment as if she somehow sensed she was being watched. With her suspicions raised, she slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder to see who it was. Zeke could see even from a slight distance that her eyes were full of contempt right away, not a trace of shock from being unexpectedly found, and definitely not the eyes of hers he saw in his dream. The fact that she looked so pissed off was odd too – surely she would have expected Reiner, and that would have her overjoyed, but somehow she just _knew_ the wrong person had come for her without even having to look.

"...Where's Reiner?" She asked flatly as she finally went about finishing the task of wringing out her hair.

"He was hurt in the battle," Zeke explained, trying not to fixate on her exposed backside, "He was in no condition to walk so he's recovering for now."

"Hurt?!" She replied with her tone suddenly filled with aggressive concern, "What happened?!"

She had spun around completely and everything from her hips up was in full view. Zeke averted his eyes from her like a civilized human being should before he spoke again, "It's a long story... but the short version is the operation to take back the Founding Titan failed," He explained as he removed his coat, which he then held out in her direction as he spoke his demand firmly, "Take this and cover yourself up, Ziegler."

" _Why?_ " She sneered at his offering, which caught him off guard. He could hear her making her way through the water and he knew she was approaching him even though he kept his eyes off to the side. It wasn't unusual for her to prance around in some slight state of undress, but to be completely nude without shame wasn't something he thought he'd personally see from her, and then came the strange yet cutting words, "Does my nakedness offend you?"

Zeke could tell she was still moving closer to him, having completely left the water at this point.

"Make you uncomfortable?" He heard her add in as a sinister taunt as she kept on her slow approach, but he remained silent which lead her to her own satisfied conclusions, "Well _good._ That's exactly what I want."

Zeke chose to look at her straight on again, still holding his coat out, and what he saw was perplexing. What he noticed was that her stance was proud and powerful, not like any other person who was stripped bare would be. Nakedness tended to leave a person vulnerable, but there was no trace of that here; the way she was carrying herself was an imposing one, as if she were intent on making the heavens themselves tremble before her if she so desired. Her dark expression and strong stance was such a stark contrast to what her response to him seeing her being intimate with Reiner was. She was exuding confidence and power, as if she was trying to assert her dominance over him by just merely being there nude.

Zeke couldn't figure out what the hell was going on, so whatever she was doing was working if her intent was as she said it was: to cause him discomfort. Her nakedness _was_ bothering him because it was rousing feelings of indecency within him and making him feel weak and perplexed. It was just the two of them with nobody to interfere, there was no escaping whatever it was that inspired the inappropriate longing within him – aside from the obvious. Suddenly she charged him, closing the gap between them and tackling him down to the ground where she pinned him... And there it was again: the flash of danger in her eyes that indicated her own inner monstrous nature.

"I still really can't believe you did what you did..." She growled with her wild eyes locked on his, "Threatening to kill Reiner... Then giving him the 'choice' of either death or letting you have me instead.. What kind of depraved sicko does that? I'm willing to believe you want to have sex with me for your own curious experimentation that you mentioned, whatever the hell that even means, but I don't buy that it's the only reason. I highly doubt once you finished up whatever "testing" you want to put my body through that you'd just stop wanting to fuck me. Would you just admit it at that point or come up with some new bullshit excuse?"

The man was faced with the paradox of not being tolerant of disobedient or difficult behavior from those he deemed beneath him, yet falling victim to the dark provocations from the unearthly beauty of Priscilla Ziegler. Has that been it all along? Was it her defiant and challenging nature that drew him to her? Because nobody else who he considered lesser than him would dare to do so – especially such a lovely specimen of a woman at that, and one who made sure to remind him that she was very much not beneath him no matter what he told himself or anyone else. It didn't make sense, yet at the same time it was the only thing that did. The beautiful fury and strength of her defiance, no matter how hard he tried to dominate her was undeniably attractive; chasing what he couldn't have and to tame the beast she herself was – he lusted to be the one to be the one to succeed in this against all odds conquest.

"Listen, I get it. I'm used to old, dirty men and how they leer at me with their despicable thoughts. You wouldn't be the first. Hell, I'd be surprised if you _weren't_ just dying to have a go with me... but let me ask you this," She cocked her head to the side as she looked down at him., "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

The Warchief laid there in silence for a moment, looking up at the mysterious being who had him pinned. Her eyes demanded an answer though, and those eyes were so powerful that it kept him from looking at her body, so Zeke went on to carefully choose his words,"...What I did wasn't right," Zeke admitted, as much as it killed him to openly give into this girl, "It was petty of me."

"Well, well, well! He said it!" She laughed, tossing her head back and sending droplets of water from her wet hair raining down on Zeke before she returned her gaze to his face below her, "And what about the rest? Will you own up to that too?"

Zeke furrowed his brows, "Eh?" in response her amused expression fell once more.

"Acting stupid on purpose isn't like you. I know you want me, and that's fine," She spoke in a deep and calm voice. She lowered her face down where it hovered just above his in a further attempt to intimidate him, "but I will never want you. I will never want anyone but Reiner."

"...You're not wrong, no, not at all..." Zeke conceded, still making his best attempt with his choice of words, "In the short time I've known you I've developed a... strong attraction to you, it's true. You're a beautiful girl, but the way you're so wild and free plays a part in it too... like Reiner, I can never be either of those things either."

"Oh come _on,_ " She groaned as she sat back again, scowling down at him now, "All that waxing poetic bullshit, just spit it all out! You can't exactly hide the fact that you're sweating and have a hardon right now!"

"Do you blame me?!" He finally exploded, "You're on top of me and taunting me with your body, reminding me I can't have what you're shoving in my face right now! And you've flagrantly done similar in the past that leads me to wonder different things... Certain thoughts, sights and sounds won't leave my head... and I can't help myself. Especially when I hear you and Reiner shamelessly having sex just feet away from me with only some thin fabric between us."

"So I'm your dirty little fantasy then, Zeke? With these so called 'certain thoughts,' huh?" Priscilla grinned and chuckled darkly, "Ohh I can picture it _perfectly_. You furiously jacking off while thinking about you being in that tent with me, listening to my moans and just wishing it was you who was fucking me, wanting so badly to be inside me when I'm cumming from being fucked so good. I bet you cum real hard thinking about all that, don't you?"

"...God damn it..." Zeke uttered and looked away from her, barely able to believe he said what he had and grappling with how every word she spoke in response was completely true.

She won. She broke him. And now he heard her laughing because she knew she had done those things and left him thoroughly embarrassed... Yet no matter how much she degraded him like this, nothing deterred him from lusting after her. However, she was falling victim to hubris due to knowing she just won their little war here, and her tongue started to slip in the worst way possible.

With a tone of cocky amusement she went on, "And you so often call me childish or immature... those other disgusting men, they always made it a point to call me a 'young _woman_.' I think it helped them deal with what they were doing to me. That they were ruining an innocent little girl. But if you just repeatedly call me a child yet have the same interests as them, then what does that make _you?_ "

Suddenly everything came screeching to a halt with what she just spoke. That was a topic she never wanted to bring up to him, or anyone else in the world except Reiner... but in her arrogance that had built up in her, she let herself get careless in how she insulted him, and now it ultimately lead to a devastating revelation about her – and the fact that she regretted divulging that last bit of information was written all over her face. Zeke's eyes traveled back to her and he smirked when he saw the look in her eyes that expressed what a mistake she just made.

"...Have I ever mentioned how much I like... no, not just like, but actually _love_ your eyes, Ziegler?" Zeke asked with that smarmy grin still on his face, "Not the color or shape or how big they are... but the fact that they give away your every thought. It's like I'm seeing things not meant for me, it's like I'm taking advantage of you by seeing every single emotion going through your mind... and I love it because it's such an appealing trait to a man like me – to so easily read someone, I mean. And you just effortlessly told me without a word that you shouldn't have said what you just did."

Priscilla's chest went tight as anxiety hit her – he was the last person that she wanted to know about this, "No... No I... don't want..."

"I really wondered how you had so much _experience_ if Reiner was your first boyfriend. You said it's only been a few months, but you come across as a master of the art of temptation and sexuality all things considered... and that observation paired with what you just told me..." Zeke said, and Priscilla's heart began to race and her expression dropped into despair as he realized what he was about to say, "Reiner was not even close to your first _,_ was he?"

Priss started to breath at a frantic pace matching her hard and fast beating heart. Zeke again found the answer to his question exposed by her expression and it pleased him greatly. Having her be so easy to read filled him with a sick satisfaction, because in his mind this war wasn't over just yet; he was making a comeback. Eventually her internal frenzy and panic settled into anger that she kept restrained as best she could. She closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.

"...It wasn't my choice," She said in a low voice, just barely audible. But her eyes shot back open when she heard a sound, one that was so infuriating that it stunned her: he was laughing.

"Not your choice?!" He repeated in disbelief. He was so used to this girl being such a domineering force that he couldn't imagine that she would fall victim to such a thing... and that is what sent her over the edge – what let her give into fury, even if just for a moment.

"I was thirteen, you bastard!" She screamed in his face. After her initial yell, her tone drifted into something darkly detached, but with that anger still burning within her, "That man tricked me... he coerced me... threatened me... and then sold me out to others. I was trained to be exactly what any given customer requested. If I refused, it was death or back to the streets for me."

"Well... Couldn't you just have avoided it to begin with?"

The utter stupidity of this question didn't occur to Zeke Yeager on his own at all, but again, Priscilla's eyes told him the story that he himself couldn't figure out. She was doing all she could to keep the rage within her from erupting and getting violent with him – but would that even matter if he could regenerate? Still, he thought it was a fair enough question, but he couldn't have been more wrong.

"...Do you know what it's like to be homeless?" She asked with her voice shaking from holding back her tumultuous emotions, "To be desperate for food and a warm bed... to be just a dumb kid who doesn't understand what a strange man's intentions were when he says he'll help you as long as you work? What stupid little girl who was in dire need would question that? I had nobody to teach me any better... I don't think you can empathize with another person at all, so I don't even know why I'm bothering trying to make you understand... So I'm just wasting my breath, aren't I?"

She then stood up, finally allowing him to move once again, and went and picked up his coat which she finally covered herself with. She had to admit, just to herself of course, that it was rather comfortable once she put it on, even if it was a bit big on her. Zeke sat up with his eyes fixed on her... there was one last question lingering in his mind that he thought was benign enough to ask.

"How did you get out of it then?"

"There was a deal of sorts in place," She began, "I got to live comfortably as long as I 'needed' it at the cost of being a working girl. And one day I didn't need to be taken care of by a degenerate pimp anymore."

"And what was it that made you realize you didn't need it anymore?" Zeke pressed.

"It was Reiner," She answered without hesitation, "When the man allowed me out on the town with him, I saw Reiner across the crowd after not seeing him for so long. We met as kids but lost touch a bit before I was... recruited. I remembered. That there was something to fight for. That there was hope, and that my hope was him. Not much later on I declared I did not need that man's help anymore and that I was going to survive on my own and join the military. I fulfilled my end of the bargain for almost a year, so I was free to go."

Zeke rose to his feet too, "So Reiner's your prince then?" He said with a very subtle sarcasm.

"Ahh Absolutely..." She responded sincerely, not picking up on Zeke's mockery at all since she had found comfort in thoughts of her Reiner, "Time and time again over the years he has saved me, defended me and devoted himself to me... he can do so much for me. I'm not strong or skilled in combat so I can't protect or fight alongside him. I'm not level headed and will fall to pieces that he has to pick up, and I'm not very smart either, but there's one thing in this world that I am good at... and that's loving Reiner. So that's what I'll keep doing. I will love him always, because that is the best thing I can do for him. I'm too weak to be the hero of any story, but I can be the one who stands by and supports the true hero of it all until the end of time with my undying love and devotion. That's why... I'm here... my purpose in life is to love him and give him the strength to be the hero who saves not just me... but the entire world."

"...That's _all_ you want to do with your life?" Zeke asked doubtfully, but then he saw a soft smile on her face. Not even his judgmental attitude would dampen her spirits when she got into thinking and talking about Reiner.

"If you loved somebody... you'd understand," She replied quietly but with an unbreakable conviction, "Don't you have someone back home in Marley or something? Or is your life just totally loveless?"

Zeke was puzzled as to why she'd even bring that up, "What does that matter to you, Ziegler?"

"Just asking. I find it hard to believe a big shot like the oh so great Warchief wouldn't have the ladies throwing themselves at you... but then again you are an unbridled dickhead with barely any sense of decency. Not very charming."

She snickered as she went on with her relentless trashing of him. It astounded him that she could effortlessly jump from a grand romantic monologue about her one true love back to her foul mouthed ways.

Silence lingered as the two stared each other down before he spoke again, "I have my reasons for remaining chaste."

"Like what?" she scoffed, "sounds like a poor cover for having zero attractive qualities."

"I'll have you know it's against my chosen ideology to wastefully ejaculate!"

"Oh _god_ did you have to use that specific ter-" Priss stopped after the ick factor of the word 'ejaculate' wore off and she thought about the implication of what he had said, "...Wait, what even is considered wastefully doing that?"

Her eyes narrowed at him as he nervously scratched at his opposite ear as he was one to do before answering bluntly, "Abstinence unless the sex is for procreation, which I can't risk doing, and no... masturbation."

"Oh _hold on_!" She threw her arms up and latched onto the masturbation part instead of questioning the 'risk' he mentioned, "So you admitted that you betrayed your ideology just moments ago, didn't you?! You said just before that I was your little fantasy for your jerk off sessions! Ohh man, GREAT conviction you have there, Mr. Mighty Warchief."

Things were settling so nicely once she had started spewing her romantic proclamations, but here they were yet again doing battle with their words. She just couldn't go out without being _aggressively_ victorious if she could achieve it – and now he felt he had to defend his actions now that he had been so called out.

"I'm not without my weaknesses, I'm only human... I didn't have time in my life for romantic or sexual pursuits, and how I kept my focus on what I wanted to achieve with my life kept my mind where it needed to be... I was also never faced with temptation like I have been since you showed up."

"That whole wasteful thing sounds a lot like what you said about the sexual stance of Hyperians... Is that something you picked up from my brother?"

"Yes," Zeke said, and then added cryptically, "You might say it was the first step..."

"First step to wha-" But then she went back, "Wait, you wanted to avoid the risk of procreation... and you would have no risk of that with me... so you could just claim you were testing a theory to attempt to procreate as a loophole in your 'ideology' – so I'm just an awfully convenient tool for you to break your _noble oath_ with zero risk. Is fucking for science technically wasteful? Or at this point have you thrown your conviction about this out the window?"

"I've made mistakes, I'll admit that. I can resist though, and be bette-"

"Oh can you?" Priss mocked as she opened up the coat of his she was wearing as she walked backwards away from him and towards where her clothes hung, giving him some full frontal nudity to mockingly tempt him with again, "Good fucking luck with that, Zeke, you're gonna need it."

At least with all her taunting he didn't let slip his royal status, which was what the risk involved with sexual relations was for him. He couldn't willfully risk accidentally spreading his genetic material and having an unknown child of royal blood running around in the world somewhere just for the sake of casually getting laid here and there and to lose his virginity. To him that didn't matter. But the relief of that was short lived as the guilt of him failing in part of his duty lingered in his mind. He had spent all these years able to deny himself, but now it seemed the key to his happiness was also the one to test him – and he was failing so far. If Anteros didn't know about the recent goings on in his mind and body when he was alone then he could at least try to move past it.

Once she had plucked her still wet clothes off the branches they were drip-drying on, the two of them started back towards the outside world. Priss was sure this would be the last time she'd ever have to see this god forsaken place, and she was thrilled to say good riddance to it. If she could, she would have let her small blaze from earlier grow into a fire that burned the city to ash, but to leave it behind without looking back and never return was good enough – and that was an effortless task for her now. She smiled as she remembered burning those dreadful books and the old toy, the simple act of destroying those few things was more liberating than she expected it to be.

* * *

When the two emerged from the forest and Priss saw the state Reiner was in, her heart dropped and her eyes started to glisten with tears immediately. For as triumphant as she felt coming out of the encounter alone with Zeke, seeing Reiner so terribly wounded completely ruined any feeling of 'victory' she gained at the end of their confrontation in Hyperia.

"...Give him to me!" She suddenly cried as she lunged forward and ran towards the Cart Titan's mouth. She grabbed Reiner tightly and pulled him out of the Titan's loosened hold on him. He was slick with saliva, it didn't bother Priss but in her frenzy she fell backwards onto the ground from the force of how hard she pulled him away.

Zeke sighed and took a step toward the pair, "Let me help yo-"

"Get away from us!" She screamed at him viciously as she got herself upright once more, not letting go of Reiner's limp, damp body for even a second, "I-I don't need your help!"

Zeke watched as the girl clumsily dragged her lover's body to the side of the Titan and made a pathetic attempt to haul herself and Reiner up into the cart. He didn't want to incur her wrath and listen to her screeching any further that day, so he chose to try to abide by her request to back off, but it was _painful_ witnessing her struggling while she tried to suppress her tears. On top of that, he couldn't afford to stand around waiting for Priscilla to get her shit together and get in the cart which spurred Zeke to act. He swiftly moved forward, tore Reiner away from her and threw him into the cart without any semblance of grace or carefulness.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" She snapped and turned to him with hate blazing in her eyes. It was the exact response he predicted from her, "I told you I didn't need your stupid help!"

" _Clearly you did_ ," Zeke responded in a tone that he tried to keep flat, but his underlying frustration couldn't be fully concealed; He was beyond fed up with her tantrums at this point, "Your attempt to try and do it on your own was just pathetic. I can't stand around and waste time just so you can make a sad effort to prove that you're capable of doing something yourself – and for what? Some shallow sense of satisfaction?"

"What is your _problem_?!" Priscilla wailed in a visceral mixture of disdain and disgust at the man, still fighting back her crying.

"What? You needed help, so I did what had to be done," He argued, "I don't see what the issue is."

Priscilla turned her back on him and started climbing up into the cart herself, which was a manageable task when she didn't have to drag along Reiner's body with her. Under her breath Zeke could hear her muttering 'why didn't he help him' and 'it's all his fault' between her weeps. She so desperately didn't want to cry in front of that despicable man; she had miraculously managed to contain herself when she had gotten into her past just before, but looking at Reiner's mangled body left her wanting to bawl her eyes out.

Once Zeke heard the thunk of her body plopping into the wooden cart, he assumed his position on top of the Cart Titan's head once more. He looked over his shoulder and saw Priscilla pull Reiner closer to her and hold him tightly in the far corner of the cart.

"He just needs time now," Zeke spoke, almost irritated for some reason.

"No!" She fired back venomously, "He needs _me!_ "

The Warchief shook his head and looked forward again as he gave his command for Pieck to get moving. With the manner in which the Cart Titan moved it made the ride in the cart itself rather bumpy, but Priss kept Reiner clutched close to her and refused to let go. She was distraught and at a total loss – she knew there wasn't really anything she realistically could do to speed up his physical recovery, that was all on his own body's ability to regenerate. At this point his limbs were most of the way there and his hair and facial features only had a short ways yet to go before they were fully back.

As she clung tightly to Reiner she heard small noises from him, which she didn't expect in the state he was in now.

"A... Pr...rr..."

"Reiner?!" She exclaimed after hearing him just barely choke out those sounds, "Save your strength, just... come here...!"

She opened the coat she wore a bit and brought his head to her chest where she laid him right over her heart so he'd be able to hear it. As she held his body close with one hand, she took the other to support his head and stroke what minimal amount of his hair had grown back.

"Don't strain yourself, don't try to speak... just listen," She instructed softly as the tears that had been threatening to fall from her eyes finally started to spill out in full force. Her heart was beating hard and fast from all that had just happened, so he could easily feel it as well as hear it, "Let my heart guide you back."

Reiner did as she said and didn't speak or move, not that he could really do either of those things, he just kept still and listened to her strong heart that was beating for him. It could have just been wildly convenient timing, but he started to feel his body strengthen faster. His clarity of mind was making a quicker recovery too... whatever the reasoning was he didn't really care, because to him it was indeed her heart bringing him back from the brink of death right now. His skin against hers, and her heart sharing it's power with him to make sure he made it back to her.

Zeke listened in on what was going on behind him. He didn't really have to steer the Cart Titan since she was, as shifters are, intelligent and knew where to go from here. For some reason he had thought back to Tom Ksaver again and how he had promised him he would use his ability as the Beast Titan to ensure that the Founding Titan was retaken... and the fact that he had left that idea behind in favor of a volatile young woman's hidden power pulled at his heartstrings in the worst way – he was betraying his father figure that he had spent so many years together with. The end result would mostly be the same, but how Anteros offered to get Zeke there was indescribably more alluring.

 _In the new world my sister births... you will never be alone, Yeager. I've seen how you've been neglected and starved for love. Eternal companionship and so much more awaits you as long as you go along with my plan._ _So, what do you say? Is the idea hatched with the other Beast better than what I can bring you?_

 _...No, it isn't._

 _As I thought. It's a deal then. No need to tell him about it, what Tom doesn't know won't hurt him, so proceed as you usually would with him. Now, first we have to get our hands a bit dirty._

 _What do you mean?_

 _There are people who would stand against us, Yeager, these people are just worthless. I don't like keeping around things without a purpose. They're a waste. You sold out your parents at Tom's suggestion, so this should be easy for you._

 _Y-Yeah..._

 _And you want to make Tom happy right? I think you and I together will be able to do that. And you'll be happy too, Yeager. So trust me. Tom promoted a slow suicide, isn't existing in everlasting bliss far greater than that? No more despair, no more filth. She will guide us there, so I must ask you to find her. She's more important than you could ever fathom, Yeager. Now, one last thing... on the subject of wasteful things._

Guilt hit him because it wasn't exactly a noble cause he was now working towards, but Ksaver's guidance wasn't geared towards a heroic ending either, yet what he pursued now was more self serving. He wanted that happiness he had been denied all his life and to be free of his shackles that bound him to his beasthood... And now he secured the key to that. The one who would give him what he lacked and yearned for – he wasn't one to believe in fate, but to have obtained Priscilla so easily made him think that destiny must have had a part to play.

It'd be pointless to think more about that though, what he needed to worry about next is how exactly he'd be able to get her on the ship to Marley without opposition or question.


	22. Chapter XVII: Free

**A/N: There is a crucial and significant edit I am thinking of making to a past chapter after reflecting on it. Either that, or just wait for the Final Draft to address my issue with it. I made a few small edits prior to posting this chapter, but it is one of the many things that should be getting entirely reworked in the Final Draft. If I can find a way to improve it before then I sure will.**

 **Chapter XVII: Free**

 _I don't know what to do in my mind  
_ _But I believe in your mighty heart  
_ _Whenever I lose control,  
_ _your soul always brings me back_

Night had fallen and The Cart Titan needed an understandable break, but that was merely traveling at a slower pace and not a full on stop to take a real rest. Even in Titan form, her stamina was limited after running at full speed for a considerable amount of time. Still, she had to keep moving. They had no way of knowing whether anybody would immediately be in pursuit of them, so it was imperative they kept moving if they could. The enemy forces suffered heavy losses and it was unlikely Zeke's group would be caught up with, but there was no point in getting careless with their time.

Nobody had said anything for hours; the silence had gone from slightly uncomfortable to just being an accepted thing at this point. What was there to be said anyway?

Reiner's body had fully regenerated but he was still unconscious while Priss kept him held to her chest, never faltering for a moment in her task to keep him close to her heart. Her arms were tired, but she could mostly rest his weight against her own body as she leaned against the inside of the cart rather than hold his body upright for hours on end. Unfortunately for her aching muscles, the night was cloudy and the moon was obscured. Priss thought maybe if she had the lunar light her arms wouldn't be so tired, but luck with the weather wasn't on her side in terms of tapping into her passive otherworldly ability. She would really enjoy laying down for a nap herself, but she refused to move until Reiner was awake.

"Uggh..."

The sound of a weary groan coming from Reiner snapped her to full attention, "Reiner? Are you ok? How are you feeling?" She frantically asked.

"Heh," He laughed lightly as he looked up to her, managing to crack a smile for her, "Much better now."

Being nestled nice and cozy in the ample chest of his lover was pretty good on it's own, but it wasn't just that... During the time where he was barely conscious, the thing he could most focus on was the sound of her heart; the hard and strong beat that brought him back.

"Thank God..." She sighed in relief, followed by a kiss to his forehead.

"What about you?" He asked.

"Me?" She spoke, a bit confused, "I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

He let out an amused scoff as if the answer was obvious, "I haven't seen you at all since the other day. Couldn't help but worry when I didn't know anything happening on your end, and..."

"And?" She pressed.

"I noticed your heart was beating like crazy when you told me to listen to it earlier," He explained, "I slipped in and out of consciousness over the hours, and eventually it slowed to a normal pace, but I can't help but wonder if something had you upset or worked up at first. I couldn't really tell what was going on around me at all except for hearing the beat of your heart."

"Oh..." She murmured as she thought back to the events that transpired just prior to their reunion. She glanced over to Zeke who was very much within earshot even though they sat in the corner furthest away from where he was positioned on the Titan's head, "...It was just your boss being a real piece of shit again. I mean, as usual."

Zeke shouldn't have been stunned by her flagrant shit talking directed at him but it caught him a bit off guard in that moment regardless – he hoped in some wild delusion that she'd just let all that go and not bring it up again, but no, Priss lives for two things: Loving Reiner and trashing Zeke any chance she got. The Warchief didn't know how to interject at this point though so he just chose to keep listening in since they weren't making an effort to go unheard.

"I see..." Reiner replied. He was well aware of Zeke's weird behavior at this point and how poorly it mixed with Priscilla's personality; it didn't 'mix' at all really, it was a full on constant clash.

"Yeah it was kind of absurd," Priss went on, "Even before he showed up to get me and started doing weird shit everything was a bit crazy while I was alone in Hyperia. I read more things since I had nothing better to do and it was just... just a _lot_ to take in."

"Huh... Maybe we should just leave talking about all that later, no point in digging up something unpleasant so soon, right?"

He gave her a certain look that she easily read and thus responded with an unspoken acknowledgment of her own. While what he said was true, he also meant that they'd be better off waiting until they were truly alone before they got to any serious talking – and she couldn't agree more.

However, there was a burning question he couldn't ignore, but for asking this one he did his best to keep his voice low, "...What happened to your clothes? Why are you just wearing Zeke's coat?"

"I washed them in a river since.. well, it's been a while and all," She explained quietly, then motioned to the pile of her still somewhat wet garments nearby, "He showed up while I was having a bit of a bath... and he actually made an effort to be a decent human being... offered me his coat to wear since I couldn't wear my soaked clothes."

Reiner looked slightly shocked – to hear her say something somewhat _nice_ about Zeke was stunning enough in itself, but Reiner was more surprised that Zeke managed to be somewhat of a good person after all the inappropriate behavior he'd witnessed from his boss. Priss wouldn't give Zeke the satisfaction of hearing her say that though, so she had made sure to keep her voice as low as possible.

"So can we consider the hatchet officially buried?" Reiner asked, his words ripe with sarcasm.

"Not even a little bit," She assured him with a smirk before her expression softened again, "But like you said, the rest of what happened while we were apart... we'll save that for another time."

"Of course," He agreed, "Maybe we should get more comfortable for now and just relax."

Priss tilted her head, "You aren't comfy?"

"Oh I'm great, trust me, but you must have been sitting in this same position and holding me for hours at this point..."

"Well, you're right... My back hurts, my arms are weak..." She rattled off, "But it was worth it."

"Well then come here, you..."

Reiner adjusted himself so he sat straight up on his own, moving off of her and effortlessly pulling her onto his lap facing him. He moved easily even with her weight on him so that he now sat against the cart and he could support her as needed. Priss placed her hands on his chest, somehow his shirt was obliterated in the battle, and just slowly ran them across it for a bit – taking in the feeling of his strong body beneath her fingertips yet again along with savoring that precious skin to skin contact. Her hands traveled up to his shoulders after lingering on his pecs for a while, then promptly started to massage and knead her fingers carefully on the area between his neck and shoulders. She was focused on this task and fell into a bit of a trance as she went about massaging him for a while, so when Reiner suddenly let out a quiet laugh it surprised her. She looked up at him with confusion.

"You having fun?" He asked after he broke her focus, that handsome smile in full force making her melt on the inside.

"If I'm making you feel good then you bet I'm having fun," She replied with a sweet smile that got him melting too now.

They held each other's loving gaze for a long moment without saying anything more. Once that moment had passed, they both threw themselves into embracing the other tightly. He rested his head on her chest with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist while one of her hands made it's way to the back of his head where she played with his hair. Reiner closed his eyes and smiled softly as he once again was able to listen to her heart, something that he quickly had gotten himself attached to with how soothing it was. They stayed like that, quiet and content, for a long while until the silence was broken by a little whimper from Priscilla.

Reiner looked up to her where he saw tears in her eyes, "Priss? What's wrong?"

"I'm just..." She gasped softly. Despite the tears in her eyes, her expression wasn't one of sadness at all, "I'm so happy you're safe."

Reiner brought a hand to her face to wipe away her tears, he could easily support her weight with just one arm around her.

"I'm glad you're safe too," He replied as he thumbed away those tears of hers, "I was worried the whole time you were gone... I couldn't focus. I kept thinking maybe something horrible might happen to you and I couldn't do anything about it..."

She sniffled loudly once he took care of all the tears that had spilled from her reddened eyes, allowing him to go back to holding her around the waist with both of his strong arms. She tried to smile at him but she was having an awkward time with what she thought should be a simple task. Her mouth contorted, her nose and brows wrinkled along with it as she fought off more tears by trying to smile at him to let him know that she was fine, and that everything was going to be okay.

Watching her goofy attempt to pull herself together enough to offer him a loving and comforting smile made Reiner's heart nearly stop. His jaw fell open slightly and his eyes widened as he watched her with a sense of wonder, but once Priss noticed his odd reaction, her expression shifted to clear confusion.

"Uhhh..." She said, "Is something wrong?"

Reiner's face started to go pink, "N-No nothing's wrong! Not at all, it's just that..." He began, "Your face just now... it reminded me of when we were kids. After I took a beating from those bullies in your place you said you'd pay me back with anything I asked for... and I all I wanted was for you to smile at me."

Now Priss was the one who's eyes went wide and who's face full on flushed red – she knew exactly the moment he was talking about, it was a day that was etched in her memory forever. That was when she knew he was her be-all-end-all, she went from a homeless girl with no prospects in life other than survive by any means necessary to desiring a life where she could be with this sweet boy who had showed her kindness for no reason other than that he knew it was the right thing to do – no ulterior motive, no catch or anything like that, just sincerity.

"You... still remember that?" She murmured in amazement.

"Of course..." He responded quietly, "How could I ever forget the day I fell in love with you?"

"Huh?!" She exclaimed, "Really? All the way back then? That was the moment for me too but... I can't imagine why you would have..."

"We barely knew each other but with just a few small gestures you showed that you had genuine care for me... you tore off a bit of the only piece of clothing you had to wipe the blood from my face, asked if I was alright... you also said I was stupid for doing what I did, which was fair enough. Trying to go up against a group of older boys wasn't a smart choice, but how could I just pretend I didn't see anything and just walk away? ...But you pointing that out was another way of showing you cared, even if it was a scolding," He explained, "You may not think that sounds like it means all that much, but those brief moments really stuck with me... then when I got to see your cute smile, that sealed the deal."

"I know I wasn't very good at it," She laughed lightly in an attempt to fight back more tears, this time ones of happiness that were inspired by the overwhelming love between them as they shared in that memory, "but that's what my hero asked for in return for saving me, so I did my best."

"It _was_ the best," He assured her, "Your smile will _always_ be the best."

"Reeeeineeeeer..." She was getting all weepy again.

"And from that point on I wanted to be the one to make you smile. I had to work hard so I could be strong for you and make sure you kept smiling," He went on, "You have no idea how special the simple care and gratitude you showed me made me feel, Priss. That sort of thing was rare in my life at the time, and is just rare in this whole world... just like you yourself are rare."

Priscilla was about to break into a full out sob but the moment came to a screeching halt when an annoyed groan was heard from Zeke, followed by his very much unwanted opinion on the situation.

"Children don't understand being in love," He bitterly remarked.

"Ohh my GOD!" Priss yelled as both she and Reiner looked to him, "Can't you just mind your own business?!

"I'm just stating a fact..." Zeke added, looking over his shoulder to them – and oh the absolute contempt in that woman's eyes, but the rage didn't carry over into more yelling or screaming that was her typical modus operandi that he expected – he just saw her quickly lunge toward some small debris left over from the boulders he crushed against the battle with the Scouts that had fallen into the cart. It didn't register at first what she was doing, but once his head was pelted with a handful of rocks he got the message.

"You don't know us, Zeke..." She spat as she grabbed more and threw another volley at him, "Eat rocks, dickhead!"

The Warchief winced as he was hit by her tiny barrages. Sure, he wasn't being legitimately _harmed_ , but the sting of the irony of his own battle tactic being used against him and the physical pain was annoying all the same. He turned forward again and shook his head; there truly was no escaping her wrath, but he had to hold out. Suffer a silly girl's torture now and reap the otherworldly benefits he was promised later. Exactly how _much_ longer he had to wait was up in the air and he needed to reunite with her brother before anything could proceed at all, but enduring her volatile outbursts that, in his mind, were unwarranted was maddening.

"In case you two were too absorbed in your own obsession with each other," Zeke began in a loud and irate voice without turning to look back at them as he made his dramatic announcement, "Bertolt is dead."

It was true that neither of them noticed Bertolt's suspicious absence, the two of them were quite caught up in enjoying each other's presence. However, Priss didn't notice because she simply didn't care about Bertolt enough. Reiner, on the other hand, was shocked by this.

"...So... that means the enemy now has the Colossal Titan?" He asked, and he heard a hum of acknowledgment from Zeke in response, "And we didn't get the Founding Titan back either... I... I failed."

"And the Marleyan government won't take your failure lightly..." Zeke said, but before he could continue delivering a lecture to Reiner on how heavy the consequences for his failure would be, he heard the girl hurry to console him instead.

"It'll be okay, Reiner..." She assured him, "We've got each other and I love you, so it's alright."

Now _this_ rubbed Zeke the wrong way to an intense degree. To a normal person, this would be just benign comfort, but he just couldn't contain his bitterness. He whipped around and shouted at her, "Who do you think you are, Ziegler?! Telling a Warrior that failure is acceptable just because he has your love? How dare you..."

Priss sighed deeply. Zeke again fully expected her usual style of tantrum that involved screaming and bitching for him daring to call her self importance out, but she had something more scathing in store for him, and from her plush lips came a calm yet still oh so smug sneer, " _If only someone out there loved you._ But you'll just be unloved and alone forever."

Her delightfully honest eyes displayed that Priss fully believed she had utterly destroyed him by throwing out a statement that was both barely relevant and aimed below the belt – but Zeke showed no trace of emotion one way or the other, he merely turned back around and kept silent. To her, this was a defeat for him; in her mind she had rendered him speechless and humiliated with her juvenile attack. Zeke was acting in his best interests by not responding at all, not even with twitch of expression on his face. He didn't feel particularly defeated, in fact he felt far from it, and his choice to not react proved to be the right move since Priss lost her interest in trying to bother him and went back to fawning over Reiner instead.

Things were quiet for a brief time as she got situated with Reiner once more, returning to his lap where she sat facing him as he laid his back against the cart just like she was sitting before she started her rock throwing. Priss inhaled and let out a deep sigh, causing her chest to rise and fall fast enough for there to be a tantalizing amount of jiggle right in front of him. Both of them were hot horny rascals for each other, there was no doubt about that, but he was the one who was getting all fired up first this time. He couldn't see her body entirely due to the large, loose coat, but there was enough skin visible to completely throw any other thoughts from his mind other than ones of her.

Honestly she didn't even need to be showing skin at all to spark that reaction in him, to have his mind completely fixated on this girl in any sense, but this was a guarantee right here. Reiner's eyes shifted to her face, and in her eyes he could see that she knew exactly what he was thinking about – the fact that he was getting hard was a dead giveaway.

"Heh..." He laughed lightly, "Glad that thing still works..."

Priss giggled in response to his silly comment, "Would be pretty weird if the _only_ thing your shifter regeneration didn't repair was a dick that got critically damaged."

The two of them laughed together at the idea, bringing back much needed levity to the atmosphere. Once Priscilla's giggling faded, it was replaced by a silent and sweet smile as she looked him right in the eyes in her usual lovestruck way.

"What?" Reiner asked with a touch of amusement.

"Even if that was the case," She began, "I wouldn't be going anywhere, whether your dick worked or not... That sounds pretty silly when I say it out loud like that, but I'll be here by your side no matter what state you're in. In sickness and in health... those things are part of marriage vows, aren't they?"

"Haha, already planning those out huh?" He chuckled, then reached out slowly to her chest, not to go for a grope but he wanted to get yet another feel of her beating heart for a moment. He heard her let out a pleased hum when his hand made contact and started feeling around for the spot where he could best get the sensation he was searching for. Once his hand came to a stop, Priss raised one of her own hands to cover his with.

"That heart right there, that's yours..." She said.

He moved to grab her free hand with his other, and brought her hand to his chest, "And this heart of mine is yours."

The lovers stared into each other's eyes as they both felt the other's hearts beneath their palms, steadily increasing in pace as they lingered there.

"...This is what we should do," Priss said after the extended silence, "Do this during the wedding as part of the vows."

"Yeah, I like the sound of that a lot," Reiner replied with that comforting and warm smile he only ever gave to her. His loving smile always made her blush and grin stupidly no matter how many times she saw it, but she didn't look away from him because she was unashamed and not embarrassed of her openly strong emotions towards him.

After they lingered for a long moment feeling each of their heart beating beneath the palm of the other, Priscilla moved in close and gave him a tender kiss on the lips, raising her hands up to his face to hold him as she lingered there so they both could really soak in that moment. It objectively hadn't been a great deal of time since they last got to be intimate, but any time away from each other felt like ages and it was unbearable. Reiner's hand on her heart ended up moving to one of her breasts with her change of movement and he could feel her lips curl into a smile against his.

"Hehe..." She laughed softly as she pulled back just slightly, the sensation of his hand on her breast without even squeezing it or anything explicitly erotic was a delight. She felt Reiner's hardon twitch against her and let out another devilish giggle, "I can't leave _that_ unattended..."

"Well y-yeah it's be ideal if we could do something..." Reiner whispered back, then glanced over to his Warchief who wasn't all that far from them, "But we're... we're just right out in the open here."

His sheepishness on this subject was always so cute to her and downright irresistible – well frankly they always found each other unbelievably irresistible, and on top of all that his actions were contradicting his words since he started to rub his thumb across her nipple, which drew a shudder of pleasure out of her. These two had no ability to contain themselves once something hot got going in some way, and the fact that he woke up with her mostly nude was a jump start to all this.

"I'm sure we can figure something out that we can do..." She said. Priss sat back slightly and opened up the coat enough so that he could see her, as much as he could in the night anyway. The moon was starting to peek out from behind the clouds every so often, illuminating the goddess on his lap.

"You could just do something for yourself, and that'll be good for me too," Reiner suggested.

Priss sort of got the idea and gave him a nod, she didn't really get what the specifics of this meant for him were but she trusted his words. To prevent himself from making a ridiculous mess in his pants, he quickly undid his fly and shifted things around so his dick could pleasantly plop out for her to rub herself against. She inched closer to him and put her arms over his shoulders to hold him like that before she started to go to town rubbing her clit against his cock. Another pleasured shudder came from her as she started to stimulate herself with the assistance of his body, and once that shiver passed through her a tiny smile appeared on her lips.

Reiner rested his hands on her hips so he could gently guide her along if she needed, and also just to feel her soft skin however he could. His own skin had the benefit of staying in great condition just due to his regenerative properties – no callouses, scars or roughness anywhere to be – but somehow hers felt so much better to him. He was formed of mortal, earthly flesh while it was more like she was constructed with artful care from something far more rare and precious; something untouchable like the light of the stars and moon. The idea that they both were just humans made of the same thing was hard for him to believe. She was a pure being made of light pulled from darkness that tried to suffocate and consume it. Light that was brought out from a dark place was the most powerful form of it, and the radiance she provided was one of the things keeping him going.

Reiner worried something such as she may be so fragile she could end up shattering if held too tightly. But the truth was that she would urge him to hold onto her as tight as he could and that it would make her feel the safest she could ever possibly be. Even out where they were, so openly exposed, she did not have a shred of fear or shame within her despite what they were doing. He didn't either – because he too was all consumed in the safety being with his lover provided.

Priss leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Reiner's. Her eyes were closed but she was still very much with him there in that moment. He must have gotten lost in his thoughts about her as he sensed she was rather close to hitting her climax, either that or she was getting to it quick for one reason or another – possibly being generally eager or the fact that the situation they were in now wasn't ideal for these activities – but at the same time, he felt like she was trying to hold out.

"If you want to... just go for it," Reiner whispered, "Don't hold yourself back."

Priss pulled her head back but threw her body as tightly against his as she could as she made her final push over the edge. Reiner had moved his hands from her hips to a full embrace around her once she made her shift in position. Despite him not _technically_ receiving a great deal of physical stimulation, Reiner felt himself approaching orgasm in time with her. There was some strong bond cultivated in their deep love for one another that let him feel a sort of spiritual erotic connection on top of everything else they had in tune with each other. The fact that she felt good made him feel the same. He felt her power, and she felt his, and in this case it culminated with them both hitting their orgasms simultaneously. As their hips bucked and trembled, she drew her face back and gave him a deep kiss as the waves of pleasure ran through her.

The two of them managed to keep any grunting, moaning or other related noises fairly low key as their bodies shuddered against one another's – the kissing certainly helped muffle those sounds, but not completely. That familiar warm, thick cum ended up on both of their torsos like this, but it didn't matter much, especially when Priscilla scooted back, lowered herself and shamelessly cleaned his insanely ripped abs with her tongue where she made sure not to miss a single trace of that special substance of his. Once she was done, she looked up at him with a cheeky yet satisfied grin which made Reiner chuckle a bit. Content with her 'work' she sat back up properly so she could be eye to eye with him.

"I don't know how you got off too from just that..." She said, equally curious as she was happy, "But I'm glad you did."

"Maybe it's cheesy to say this, but I feel there's something very powerful shared between us... obviously not just with that... a shared power just being in love."

"It's not cheesy at all," She assured him, "Maybe to someone who doesn't get it, yeah then they'd think it's cheesy or silly. But I know you're right. This love we have is what makes us strong and so connected. I don't think there's _anyone_ else in the world who could understand that."

"That's right," He agreed. Reiner could see the weariness in her face start to become more apparent now though – he was positive she could do with some kind of rest. He brought his hand up to her cheek, "Why don't you lay down for a bit?"

She laughed weakly, "I think I could go for a bit of a nap... not sure how to get comfy in here though..."

"Don't worry, I'll hold onto you this time," Reiner said without missing a beat, "Like you did for me."

Even with the growing tiredness evident in her eyes, hearing that sparked a brief glee in them too that shined through the sleepiness. The pair shifted around a bit so she was laid up against him like he was with her earlier, her head against his chest so she could get a good feel of his heart as she drifted off. Sleep took her quickly that night, only a few beats of his heart and she was out like a light. Reiner, being far more well rested than she was at this point, vowed to do exactly what she did for him: hold her while she slept until she awoke once more.

* * *

The morning sun had risen by the time the group had made it to yet another wall. A now weary Reiner looked down to his sleeping beauty laid against his chest; he felt guilty about waking her when she appeared to still be deep in slumber, but he believed she would want to be awake for this.

Reiner gave her a gentle shake and spoke softly, "Hey..."

Priscilla's eyes slowly opened to see her tired-eyed lover still holding her close to him. She realized he had done exactly the same thing she did: forgoing sleep for the sake of keeping the other comfortable. Sleeping in a hard wooden cart wouldn't be comfortable, so offering each other this kind of support seemed like the best choice for their situation.

Priss didn't take her eyes off him to take in their surroundings, but she had a solid guess about where they were, "Are we close? To the ocean?

"Any moment now, Priss. You're gonna see it. You excited?" He confirmed.

"Honestly, for a while I didn't think all that much about it... too many other things on my mind..." She admitted, "I don't think I had the time or energy to get excited for the beach and the ocean..."

"Heh, that's fair enough..." He chuckled, with that tinge of weariness in his voice. It didn't take long for him to come up with an idea that could make the experience even more special, "Maybe we should cover your eyes first."

"Oh! Yeah!" She exclaimed as she sat up at full attention, feeling suddenly very invigorated by his suggestion, "I'll close my eyes and you lead me out... It'll be fun!"

Priscilla's enthusiastic energy was hard for Reiner to keep up with at the moment since the man was sleepy from his keeping vigil, but he wouldn't say no to her, especially as simple a request as this. He had recovered his strength from his critical injuries by now and a little bit weariness from lack of sleep wouldn't deter him from making his lady happy. Priss closed her eyes as the Cart Titan made it's way along, but she felt it starting to slow soon enough. Once their steed came to a stop, Reiner scooped Priss up in his arms and carefully got out of the cart with her in tow. Zeke watched as Reiner carried Priss towards what laid beyond the final wall thinking that it was a dumb idea, even letting out a condescending scoff. To him, the ocean wasn't that big of a deal and he couldn't understand why this was apparently going to be something of an event for her at all.

As Reiner walked along, unfamiliar sounds started to fill Priscilla's ears. The noise his feet made as they hit the ground changed and a rhythmic "whoosh"-like sound got louder and louder. It wasn't long before Reiner came to a stop.

"I'm gonna put you down now, be ready..." He said.

Slowly they went, and when she had her feet on the ground again it sent a shock all throughout her body. Her feet were wet, that was incredibly obvious even without sight, and the ground beneath her felt completely foreign too. The water around her ankles wasn't stagnant either, it would flow away from her and then rush back over her feet again.

She still had her eyes closed, so Reiner gave her the official go ahead, "Open your eyes."

Once her eyes fluttered open, what she saw spread before her was unlike anything she could have ever imagined and it stole away the air in her lungs to see it. The expanse of water seemed endless; all she could see other than the ocean in front of her was the sun on the distant horizon that reflected it's light in glittering patterns in the water further out. The brightness of it made her squint her eyes as she gawked at the sight before her.

"... _Hoooooly_ _ **shit!**_ " She finally exclaimed after just staring forward for a while, whipping her head to see Reiner, " _That's_ the ocean?"

"Yep, that's the ocean." He replied with a warm smile. He could see the gears start turning in her mind, generating more thoughts before she finally launched into a full on deluge of questions in a single breath.

"Why is the water moving? What is this kind of ground? It feels weird and I can feel my feet sink in kind of and it's getting between my toes which feels weird. But not really bad-weird, so I guess it's ok... all I know is it's DEFINITELY not regular dirt, and there's more of it behind us but it looks different? Ohh how deep is the ocean? And this gritty ground stuff is on the bottom of it? Are there fish like in rivers and lakes? And Marley is on the other side of it? I can't see anything... Can I drink ocean water?"

"No drinking ocean water," He instructed with an amused laugh. Her excited cluelessness about this brand new environment was cute as hell, "It'll make you sick and I don't think anybody wants that."

"Oh, got it. Don't drink ocean. Don't wanna get sick," She repeated with a nod.

Reiner then went on to do his best to explain the other things she asked, but his answers ended up leading to more questions. Telling her the ground was sand – and how the sand she stood on was wet and the sand behind them was dry – just made her ask what sand was, telling her about waves and tides didn't do much to help her since she didn't have a concept of either of those, he had to make it clear that Marley was _very_ very far away and that's why she couldn't see it – and of course she asked just how far away it was – and he had no concise way of explaining how much the depth of the ocean varied. As Reiner did his best to get through what she was asking, Zeke finally made his way to the shore too. He listened in on their conversation for a moment before choosing to make himself known.

"Giving her science lessons now, Reiner?" He asked dryly, but his words went ignored completely.

"Can we go a bit deeper in, Reiner?" She asked, however, Reiner wasn't sure about this request. Swimming in a lake was one thing, but her inexperience with how the ocean worked could prove troublesome. He worried she might get overwhelmed by the push and pull of waves if she got overly ambitious in how far they went, but as long as he guided her through it and didn't venture far, he chose to oblige her.

"Yeah, just not much further than this," He said. Discovering this awe inspiring piece of the world she had no comprehension of with her only love at her side was the only way she would want it.

"Hey!" Zeke shouted angrily when he picked up on what they were doing, "Don't do that, you'll get my coat all wet!"

This caused her to freeze before she even took a few steps forward from the ankle deep water. Her posture was first rigid from annoyance at him piping up at an unwanted time, but after a moment her body relaxed and she looked over her shoulder at him.

"...You're right, it _would_ get all wet..." She agreed with a dark smirk.

In what seemed like a single swift motion, she stripped his coat off her body and sent if flying onto the dry sand behind her. Both he and Reiner were hit with an initial shock that she'd so easily strip back down to the nude, but when they considered who they were dealing with... it wasn't all that surprising. Just like Zeke experienced before, he saw no shamefulness or insecurity in her about being seen in such a way so openly. Reiner already got to see this lovely sight regularly, but Zeke didn't expect her to willfully expose herself again when he was around – the last time was not expected on either of their parts, but here she was now totally naked and wading out into the ocean hand in hand with Reiner with an aura of pride and power emanating from her.

They only went out far enough for the water to come up to their thighs, but that was more than enough. She was filled with such vigor, a level of it she rarely ever felt before, and it kept ramping up the more she took in her surroundings. The air, the sea, the sky, the sun placed in a seemingly endless expanse before her made her just want to start screaming or crying to let all the building emotion in her out. She stood tall and strong, holding Reiner's hand tightly while she clenched her free one. A determined smile spread across her face and her heart was racing at this point – this was the beginning of something great, her world was on the cusp of the biggest change ever and she was a bit scared, but it was just bubbling in her subconscious for now – Her fear was muted from the overwhelming sense of being free finally in was in her grasp, and that feeling was augmented by her lack of clothes. Others would think it would be uncivilized to conduct herself like that, but her own desire to be naked was a powerful way for her to flex the fact that _she was free._

Reiner had been watching her face and he noticed the powerful look in her eyes that sparkled in the sun, "What's on your mind, Priss?"

"...Freedom," She murmured. The wind suddenly picked up and her long shimmering white hair flowed elegantly in it. She squeezed her lover's hand even tighter, prompting him to do the same – the hand that fit so perfectly in his; they were undeniably made to connect with one another and now they would be embarking on the next chapter of their story together.

...Meanwhile, Zeke shuffled over and picked up his coat from the sand where Priss had carelessly tossed it. When he stood back up straight, he held it in front of him to hide his awkward boner that was inspired by the naked pretty Priss.

"God I hope the ship arrives soon..." He whined under his breath.


	23. Chapter XVIII: The Marleyans

**A/N: All the usual stuff: planning for the rewrite/Final Draft is going well, art that goes along with WB/ The Prissner Creative Universe is good. And of course I hope you enjoy this and look forward to more... thanks for reading.**

 **Chapter XVIII: The Marleyans**

It was an odd scene for sure: a beautiful naked girl joyfully kicking around in the safe shallow waters, her handsome fiance sitting on the shore gazing at her lovingly, the Warchief standing an awkward distance away watching both of them and Pieck lurking in the background still in her titan form. The strange yet serene scene had been ongoing for a while since there wasn't very much to do there, however, it came to an abrupt halt when the girl froze, her laughter ceased and she let out a cry of fear.

"Eeyuuck!" Priss shrieked as her body tensed up and froze.

Reiner, who had been ready to act should anything go awry, quickly jumped into action and onto his feet, "What is it?! What's wrong?" he panicked as he ran to her – his mind raced with the possibilities of what could have caused her to yell, but logic didn't matter, the point was she was distressed and regardless of why... he had to step in. Once he got to her, she immediately attached herself to him in a clingy hug.

"Something gross just slide up against my foot!" She exclaimed.

"Oh..." Reiner let out an instant sigh of relief followed by a soft, single chuckle, "Probably just seaweed. That'll happen, nothing to worry about."

"What's seaweed? Ohh it felt so _... weeeeeeird..."_ She whined as she fidgeted at the thought of it happening again, despite the icky sensation being very fleeting.

"It's just plant life from the ocean, it won't hurt you..." He assured her, giving her hair a kind stroke, "Jellyfish are something to be aware of and to watch out for though... but it's hard to see what's coming and going in the waves so you can't really 'watch out' for anything effectively."

Priss's nose wrinkled in utter confusion at the name of the creature he just mentioned, "JELLYfish? The hell are _jellyfish_?" She pressed as she stared up at him with wild-eyed curiosity.

"Well they're uhh... not _fish_ exactly... but they're sea animals that have these dangling things that will sting you and make you sore," Reiner explained, "The ocean can actually be pretty dangerous, but the real dangers are when you venture further out."

"Huh..." She breathed, turning again to look out to the expanse of water that went on and on ahead of them,"It seems so peaceful though..."

"Things aren't always what they seem, Priss. Looks can be deceiving, especially on a surface level..." Reiner said, his expression falling a bit for having to dampen the mood.

"Yeah, yeah that's true..." She sighed as she turned back to him. She admittedly felt a bit stupid for not realizing that obvious fact of life, but her curiosity took the reigns of her emotions once more after that moment of reflection, "So, what sort of dangerous stuff is further out there?"

"Er... Well..." Reiner was caught off guard and wasn't sure to begin with something so broad. Not only was the ocean a massive subject to tackle, but he was by no means some kind of marine specialist either. The easiest thing to have a go at describing first was the threatening aquatic animal life and go from there – sharks were the first thing that came to mind, so he started to do his best to explain those to her. The poor girl did her absolute best to keep up and nodded along while listening intently. She wanted to remember anything and everything Reiner told her about the ocean.

Zeke considered making an attempt at his lame science lesson comment again while the conversation between Priss and Reiner unfolded, but he decided against it, he was more content to disconnect and just watch the horizon for the first sign of the ship. He could only hope it would show up soon, the man wanted to get off this dreaded island already and just standing around here waiting on the beach with nothing much to do was part of the final painful stretch. The sea journey wouldn't be anything close to enjoyable, but at least it was more meaningful progress being made towards their itinerary as opposed to just... _waiting._

...And wait they did. He could hear the other two chatting away about the ocean, more back and forth questions and answers, but he wasn't paying very close attention to anything they were saying. Them talking about the ocean wasn't relevant to him at all, so why bother intentionally eavesdropping on them? The call of gulls and sounds of the waves lapping against the shore were even more interesting than the senseless babble of those two. For all he knew they moved onto other topics eventually; their voices had just become indecipherable white noise.

Then, after God knows how long, he saw it. Zeke could finally see what could only be the ship that would be taking them back to their home appear distantly on the horizon. He breathed a huge sigh of relief; he had been looking forward to getting back to the mainland immensely. His eagerness to return to Marley wasn't only because it was his homeland though... despite the mission of retaking the Founding Titan being a failure... he wasn't coming back empty handed. He got the girl, she was in good health and she was happy to go along with them back to Marley. He looked back at her, feeling mighty proud of himself – he had been trying not to look at her while she was in her nude state but he couldn't help but feel smugly accomplished enough to give her a prideful look – like a hunter looking down on the big game target he had finally killed. It would still be quite a bit before the ship made it to the dock, but after letting his inherently creepy gaze sit on her for a moment his eyes went wide with what could only be described as intense fear.

"... _Shit shit shit shit!_ " Zeke cursed.

The Warchief ran over to Priss where he frantically whipped his coat off and started to force it onto her in an attempt to get her covered before the ship reached port, despite it still being a mere speck in the distance. Priss, however, was both shocked and disgusted by his sudden, context-less action and furiously tried to fight him off.

"What are you doing, freak?!" She shouted venomously as she made her efforts to push him away, "Trying to cop a feel?!"

Zeke did not relent and kept cursing under his breath, and in between his swearing she swore she heard something about 'embarrassing him in front of the Marleyans.' Reiner had been too caught up in the moments leading up to this to really think about what was going to happen when the Marleyans arrived... and this time he had to side with Zeke, it really didn't take much thought to come to that conclusion, but as always he had a gentler approach than his boss did when it came to Priscilla.

Reiner got between them where he successfully got Zeke off her, and then began in a calming tone, "Priss, it _is_ probably better you cover up before the ship arrives... A lot of strange men are gonna be on there."

Priscilla didn't need much more than Reiner's word on anything for her to make a decision about something. He was the one person in the world she felt she could put her trust in, so there was no reason to doubt what he said. Like him, she hadn't thought much farther ahead than the moments they were living in where running around without clothes was, in it's own odd way, completely acceptable for her to do. Now that she had the reality laid out before her that new people would be showing up once that ship reached them, she acknowledged that it was indeed time to get dressed again.

"You're right," She agreed and her body relaxed after being in a defensive mode from Zeke's unjust assault, "And I'm sure my clothes are dry by now so..." she added as she thought back to her garments she had discarded to wash previously.

"I'll go get them from the cart," Reiner offered, ever the gentleman he was.

He gave Priss a quick kiss on the forehead before he turned and jogged towards the Cart Titan, leaving the two opposing beasts by themselves. It would only be for a short moment, but for Zeke time started to move painfully slow. He kept giving her side glances to see if she was paying attention to him at all, and she wasn't of course, she kept her gaze forward while she waited for her prince to return. The man felt compelled to break the silence that was only awkward for him because he was solely concerned with himself and his own feelings. He was at a loss for what to say at first, but then a logical icebreaker came to him.

"So what happened to the books?" He asked, trying to remain casual, but the words spilled out of his mouth in a clunky manner despite his best efforts.

"Hm?" Priss responded dreamily, not even slightly moving to look in his direction, "What books?

Zeke's nostrils flared as he whipped around to face her,"What do you mean 'what books,' Ziegler?! You know exactly what I'm talking about!"

Zeke's shift from attempted casualness to borderline fuming was unsurprising to Priss and left her still barely acknowledging him, in fact all she offered in response to him was a limp shrug. Her continued lack of attention towards him, especially since she didn't even bother to use words, got him seething even more. So he did what he thought was necessary to do and grabbed her by the arm to pull her to face him – to make it so she literally _couldn't_ disregard him anymore, so that she _couldn't_ escape directly addressing him.

"Don't you play dumb with me..." He growled at her in his best attempt at intimidation he could muster in that moment. Priss grimaced and shifted her lime green gaze away from him, which earned her a quick shake, "Look at me when I'm speaking to you...You left camp with them, you came back without them... And I heard you talking to Reiner about them last night too, so I know you read them."

"Hmph!" She tried to pull away her arm, but Zeke kept his grip firm on her, "Why is it your business anyway?"

"It's always been my business!" He full on shouted at her, "We had an agreement, didn't we?!"

Priscilla did not fall into a pit of fear from this unhinged man yelling at her, but rather her expression soured to a full on disdainful glare,"If you're buddied up with my brother, shouldn't you know all that nonsense anyway?"

"I wanted my own confirmation if I could get it... And who knows... what else there..." He sneered in response as he gripped her harder, causing her to wince a bit and let out a tiny 'ow.'

"What the _hell_?!"

Reiner had come back with Priscilla's clothes in his arms, shocked at what he was seeing before him. It felt like it was impossible to leave these two alone at all without some sort of spat breaking out. Zeke's grip on her arm loosened once he realized Reiner was back so she took the opportunity to pull away, and she made damn sure to not just do that, but to dash over to Reiner's side and point an accusing finger at Zeke.

"This creep keeps trying to assault me!" She exclaimed, attaching herself to Reiner's arm, "Any chance he can get, but especially if you're not around since he thinks he can get away with it..."

"Don't listen to her, Reiner!" Zeke ordered, "I was just trying to have a conversation with her, but she's hysterical and overreacting all the time."

"Sir, I saw you aggressively grabbing her arm..." Reiner countered, remaining steadfast in his defense of Priscilla, but also level headed... However, he would not be intimidated by Zeke's authority this time, "And you clearly looked angry with her, you were raising your voice, I can't imagine why either. I wasn't even gone for long... but that part's not the point. I'd ask what she could have possibly done to provoke you so quickly, but that doesn't matter either. What matters is you need to act better than this, Warchief Zeke... especially with the Marleyans on their way."

"I could say the same for you two," Zeke huffed dramatically and went on with bitterness, "I know it's a herculean task, but try to contain yourselves and not embarrass me."

"...Why would you be embarrassed in front of the people coming?" Priss spoke up, finding it weird he'd say this yet again on top of mumbling about it minutes ago, "Aren't you the boss of everyone? What do you have to worry about, _Mr. Big Shot Warchief?_ "

Zeke's face went pale and he reached to scratch his ear while he looked away from her. His posture hunched and went rigid, and he also went suspiciously silent. Priscilla found his change in demeanor a bit peculiar, but in the end she didn't care enough about him to question it. Instead, she and Reiner turned to each other and all of a sudden it was just the two of them in the whole world again, just how they liked it.

"Here," He said, holding her clothes out to her.

Priss accepted the various rumpled and wrinkled items from him, "Thank you..." She responded, flashing him a cute smile that made him go ever so slightly red in the face. The two of them relished in that small amount of skin to skin contact as the clothing changed hands, it always made them feel something of an indescribable spark even when the contact of their bodies was brief. After they basked in their saccharine sweetness for a moment she added with a giggle, "I'll put all this back on again."

"At this point I wonder if you even remember how to put clothes on," Reiner joked, which sent Priss from a giggle to a full blown laugh.

"Who knows..." She said through her laughter, then playfully added, "You could be right about that."

After what seemed like ages, Priscilla finally got properly dressed again; everything back on and her body properly covered up. She really didn't mind basking in her own beautiful nude glory, in fact she felt very powerful when she did, but she understood what Reiner meant with his advice about getting dressed in the coming circumstances. 'Strange men' was just another way of saying potentially dangerous and lecherous men and nobody wanted to increase the chances of her being put into a situation where some creep might cross a line. Even with the factor of shameless nudity removed, a true scumbag would pursue and harass the alluring nymph if they really wanted to, so Reiner knew he had to protect her from possible degenerates with no sense of self control no matter what.

Which, of course, was a mission he would stay committed to until his dying day.

Reiner had no power to change the past pain she had suffered that he would always hold some sense of responsibility for, even though it was wrongful self blame, but he would do everything in his power to be her shield as she needed. Given not just the strength of his will with regard to her, but also just the raw strength of his body, it wouldn't be hard to ward off any threat that may present itself. Reiner had to wonder if she really understood the type of people that they would be meeting up with soon though – he didn't want to make assumptions that she'd be naive, especially given her life experiences, but he couldn't help but be concerned all the same.

He watched Priss as she finished up dressing herself. Once she smoothed herself out as much as she could, she did a little spin around to show off in a moment of girlish flaunting, allowing her hair to elegantly swish around with her. It was the same outfit he'd seen her wearing for a while, nothing new about it, but she would never stop stunning him and leaving him breathless – like he had come across a being thought to only be a myth, but there she was standing right in front of him. Once she came to a stop and her flowing hair settled back into place, their eyes were locked with one another's again, but Priscilla soon had a goofy smile start to appear on her face like the night before.

Reiner cocked his head to the side and crossed his arms, "What is it?" He asked with his own grin.

"This just made me think about..." She started as a blush made it's way across her cheeks, "That first time you brought clothes to me when I really needed them."

Reiner remembered it too, it went hand in hand with the reminiscing that they did last night about that same period of time in their lives. In retrospect, everything about their origins had the perfect making for a future couple, and now getting to think back on it now that they _were_ together was unbelievably satisfying and offered comfort to both of them. When there was happiness to be found nowhere else, they could always find it in each other somehow.

They could create their own happiness as long as they had one another and didn't need to wait for it to come from anywhere or anyone else... and that, in a world as cruel as they lived in, was more valuable than anything.

* * *

Once the ship arrived it proved to be much bigger than any of the boats Priss had ever seen used to traverse the canals in the Walls. It was staffed by men in uniform, many looking to be military of some sort. She watched the soldiers get off the ship, leading a line of blindfolded people who were tied at the hands all by the same rope; more specifically they were bound at the wrists as she could eventually tell their hands had been cut off previous to starting this procession. Reiner had been mentally preparing to deal with meeting the military officers here and hadn't noticed his lady gazing at the prisoners being lead towards the wall right away.

"Those are mainland Eldians sentenced to be turned into Titans..." Reiner quietly whispered when he picked up on Priscilla staring at the morbid march, "This is what happens to those who... forget their place. To traitors. This is why Titans always came from the north, from this direction. Criminals from the mainland brought to this port get transformed and then move inland."

"But..." She began, equally as quiet as she slowly turned to look at him with her honest eyes, "But why?"

"This Island has been a penal colony for traitorous Eldians from the mainland. And the punishment for their crimes was to have their monsters within exposed..." Reiner continued, "To mindlessly seek out their own kind here. The people who descended from the King and all the people he brought here, the walls protect them from their own kind."

"Well, well if it isn't the boy wonder!" A boistrous man said as he approached the group, obnoxiously trampling over the quiet exchange between Priscilla and Reiner – which may have been for the best anyway. Priss's eyebrows furrowed at his comment, asking herself who the hell this 'boy wonder' could possibly be... but she soon realized he was looking at Zeke when he used the nickname, "The hell happened to you all? You look like shit and half your clothes are missing!"

Zeke, and Reiner too at that, were at a loss for words what with everything that had happened prior to this. However, Priscilla was glad to throw in her own comments since she was blissfully ignorant of what the reality of this situation was for them all.

"Oh well you see, I'm positive Zeke here uses his shirt as a cum rag." Priss piped up happily and with a cheeky grin, motioning with her thumb at Zeke, "That's why he doesn't have one on."

"Ziegler!" Zeke's eyes filled with panic and he grabbed at her arm yet again before yelling at her more, "S-Stop that! Keep your mouth shut!"

"Why? I don't think I'm wrong, you can't prove me wrong..." She replied as she tugged away from him with a mild look of disgust on her face, "Can't contain yourself, gotta clean up somehow..."

The boistrous man tossed his head back, laughed and then shook his head as it dropped down again, following with a scoff and a mutter of 'fucking Eldians...' under his breath. However, after Zeke's outburst, another man looked their way.

"What did you just say?" This man, a bit further away but more 'official' looking than the first asked. His way of carrying himself as he approached the group and the difference in his uniform from the 'grunt' gave off the hint that he may be the one in charge of the current operation, or at least of some high ranking.

"Just musing about what nasty little creatures these Eldians are, sir..." The first man said with a smarmy smile.

"No, not you..." The commanding officer scolded and motioned for him to get lost, then looked to Zeke, who stood straight up and with his arms glued to his sides. The man narrowed his eyes and closed in on Zeke's face before he continued, "That name you just used... Ziegler? Did I hear you correctly, Yeager?"

"Yes sir," Zeke answered swiftly and obediently, maintaining the eye contact established by the officer.

The higher ranked man shifted his eyes to Priscilla who swallowed hard as this man began to look her up and down, giving his chin a stroke as he did so. It wasn't a long or thorough examination before the officer uttered, "And the description matches... There really is no doubting it."

"Doubting... what?" Zeke asked.

"That girl is to be allowed passage as per request of Willy Tybur himself," The commander said firmly, "No questions asked."

"Willy Tybur?!" Zeke exclaimed, "What... What does the Tybur family want with... with _her_?"

"That's none of my business, I'm just following orders..." The officer replied sternly, "General Magath personally gave them. Should a fair girl with pale hair and bright green eyes be brought to us, she _will_ have safe passage to Marley to meet with the Tyburs."

Zeke's 'professional' composure he had built when talking to these military men was collapsing into confused desperation, "But... Why?!"

The commanding officer's glare showed he'd just about had enough of Zeke pressing for answers that he had no right to be pestering for, "Orders are orders. I don't question what comes from the top, and you don't get to question _anything_ you Eldian scum."

The sneer of his lips and cutting tone of those last two words weren't something Priss expected. Zeke's change in behavior hadn't sunken in until now either – he went from acting like he's in control, that he is to be respected... to subserviently answering to these other military men once they arrived... and based on how he was being spoken to by them, Zeke was far from some kind of authoritative figure in the military structure he served in.

 _Embarrass him in front of the Marleyans..._ She thought back.

The realization of what that meant fully dawned on her: Zeke was far beneath these men who just arrived and he's already seen as lesser – he didn't need anything else adding onto the oppressive nature of the dynamic between himself and the Marleyans.

...Did she feel bad though? No. A smile started to tug at the corners of her mouth and her eyes went dull as she got lost in thought. She remembered all the times he tried to lord authority over her or intimidate her and reveled in how she wouldn't relent to him, because now she saw she doubly didn't have any reason to listen to him. She was feeling quite pleased with herself, and the smugness that went along with it was clear as day on her face at this point, but when she looked over to Reiner to hopefully share the feeling, she noticed his posture had changed as well. He was also standing stiff and straight with his arms at his sides, but he was keeping his head down. Observing the same shift in behavior in Reiner made her smile fade, but it made sense that if Zeke was looked down upon, then Reiner would be too.

* * *

The quarters they were shown to within the ship were tiny, no room for anything but beds on either side, a single, small bedside table between them against the wall and just enough space to walk between the beds, plus a dim single light hung from the ceiling. They were buried far below deck too – this was by no means some sort of luxury trip, but the fact that they were Eldians ensured they got the worst arrangements possible. The Marleyans were under the assumption that Priss was an Eldian, and she didn't have an opportunity or need to correct them, and if putting that fact out there meant she'd possibly be separated from Reiner then she _definitely_ didn't want it to be known.

Priss and Reiner stood in the doorway looking at the dreary low class room with pitiful lighting in front of them without much enthusiasm. Zeke was elsewhere, presumably taking care of some necessary business as he was in charge of the operation on Paradis Island, despite the fact that he was of lower standing in the grand scheme of things. After just staring for a moment, the pale girl looked over to Reiner with a soft smile, grabbed her lover's hand and lead him towards one of the beds.

"These are small, but that shouldn't be a problem for us," Priss said optimistically as she plopped down on one. It creaked and had next to no bounce to it, which wasn't shocking based on it's looks alone, "And I imagine they're be better than those tents, even if these don't feel _amazing_ or anything. At least it's a mattress."

Reiner sat down next to her, and put one arm around her to pull her closer to him – nice and tight. She leaned right into him, resting her head on his shoulder as she closed her eyes and hummed with content. Reiner couldn't help but be a bit worried though – he was relieved there was no issue getting her on the ship and across the ocean, but the circumstances had him baffled. Then, as if she could read his mind...

"What's the Tybur family, Reiner?" She asked softly as her eyes fluttered back open.

"They're the family that governs and rules over Marley behind the scenes. Eldians, actually, not a lot of the common folk know this..." He rattled off his quick explanation, "They're nobles with a lot of power... I have no idea why they would want you... or how they would even _know_ not just your last name, but what you look like too..."

Priss sensed the anxiety building in him by the way his voice started to change as he went on with his speech, so she lifted her head and raised her soft hand to Reiner's cheek where she gently turned his face to hers, "I wish you wouldn't worry so much, Reiner... I understand why you do, but I just don't want you to stress yourself out. I'm sure we'll figure it out when we get home."

"Home..." He echoed as he raised one of his hands to cover the one of hers she had on his face, "Yeah, back to... _our_ home."

She grinned big, her eyes wide with glee as she added with enthusiasm, "To our home where we'll be Mister and Missus Braun!"

Reiner let out a loud laugh at the pure adorableness of her sheer excitement – not to mock her, and she was perceptive of him and his thoughts enough to know that. It just made her smile even more and start to laugh a bit herself; she was unable to contain her overflowing joyous anticipation of what was getting closer and closer for them.

" _You're supposed to be rooming with Pieck!"_

Somehow neither of them noticed Zeke, ever the buzzkill, enter the room until he announced himself in his dreadfully dramatic way. In his arms he held changes of clothes to replace the tatters he and Reiner were in. Priscilla scoffed and flopped down onto the bed she was sharing with Reiner.

"You're delusional if you think that was gonna happen, Zeke..." She said, but then politely added, "Nothing against Pieck, of course, I'm sure she's a nice girl and all."

Zeke narrowed his eyes and sneered, "A little influence from a nice girl is exactly what I think you need, Ziegler..."

"Hmm... nope I'm better off with my fiance," Priss responded without hesitation, "There's plenty of room for he and I to share one bed since we're plenty used to sleeping in close quarters."

Zeke groaned and shook his head as he shuffled to the unoccupied bed across from them where he took a seat on the edge. He was well aware that she _knew_ his problem with her presence there had nothing to do with whether or not they had enough space in one bed. Zeke, for all his moronic moments he had, wasn't dumb – but it didn't take a genius to deduce that there would end up being more than just sleeping and innocent cuddling happening in their bed. The precedent had been set that Zeke being near in proximity didn't matter much to them when they really wanted to have a go at each other.

"By the way..." Zeke said sharply as he made a subject shift, "Don't mention that you're not Eldian to anyone. I believe it will cause more problems than it would solve for us right now. You'll be treated as poorly as the Reiner, Pieck and I but..."

"I'll survive," Priscilla stated flatly as she sat back up. Reiner threw an arm around her once more in a tight one armed hug, then used his free hand to give her thigh a rub. It was his silent gesture of ensuring he'd be there to watch her back – that he would do his best to make sure that she'd do more than merely survive, but it wasn't like this voyage had room for anyone to thrive or live nicely, but he'd do what he could to make her comfortable – which of course would extend to life in Marley too – that man made her a promise to give her the best, and he would. She snuggled deep into his one armed embrace and grinned stupidly – all the sickening sweetness that these two simply couldn't contain was nothing but a bother to Zeke. It was a separate type of nuisance to the sexual temptation, but an annoyance to him all the same.

"And another thing..." Zeke continued, starting to take his boots off, "My cover for your... peculiar appearance... was that you have a rare genetic disorder distantly related to albinism. You should be thankful that I was quick on my feet enough to think of that."

"...The fuck is albinism?" Priscilla asked, but her confusion shifted to horror when she saw Zeke pull off his socks and reveal his grossly untrimmed toenails to everyone. She visibly recoiled, pressing even harder into Reiner's body, and pointed to them, " _ **No, no, NO. PUT THOSE AWAY.**_ "

"Calm yourself, I'm going to sleep..." Zeke groaned as he removed his glasses and carefully placed them on the basic nightstand crammed between the two beds. He then looked back to the pair and added with an obvious touch of disdain, "Unlike you two I didn't get a chance to rest all last night."

The changing of clothes didn't matter right now, so they were left carelessly on the floor. Once Zeke got himself situated under his sheet and rolled over with his back to the couple, she felt it was only fair she and Reiner got comfortable too – even if they weren't quite ready to sleep yet. Reiner didn't have much but his tattered pants since his brutal injuries obliterated most of his clothes with what he went through, so he slipped out of those and was down to his underwear. Priscilla had more to shed: and it came down to her taking off everything but her panties. Reiner's shirt that she'd always steal to sleep in at night was tragically gone, so completely topless she would go.

The two of them crawled under the single sheet they had, but warmth wouldn't be any sort of problem. The room itself was fairly stuffy, and their bodies provided heat too so just having a basic thin blanket to sleep under wasn't an issue. The pair laid on their sides facing each other – and the looks in both of their eyes made one fact quite obvious:

It may not be necessarily soon, but there was going to be some kind messing around going on that night. Whether it be full blown fucking or just something simpler like the night prior, both of them knew there was fondling, kissing and cumming to be done. However, for the moment they were happy to just lay there where they would stay just far apart enough to look into each other's eyes and silently try to guess what the other was thinking.

...As if there was anything else to think about other than each other in that moment. It was difficult, if not impossible, to have their minds wander into areas that would inspire worry. Again, even with the dreariness of their immediate surroundings, there was always joy to be found in each other's arms, thoughts and hearts.


	24. Chapter XVIX: Calling Out Your Name

**A/N: I don't think I have anything to say here but I feel obligated to put in author's notes anyway, hopefully everyone enjoys this chapter! Much love to the fans as always.**

 **Chapter XVIX: Calling Out Your Name**

"Don't you ever get tired of that? Just looking at me all the time?"

If it weren't for the silly grin on his face when he asked that, Priscilla would have called Reiner out for asking one of the dumbest questions he could ever ask. She let out a soft laugh, surprisingly trying to be mindful of the fact that someone was sleeping in that room too and making an effort to stay somewhat quiet. She reached up to his face with one of her delicate hands and started to trace her fingertips along his features with her eyes following the path she took. From his brow line, down his cheek bones, across his jaw, then brushing his lips and topping it off by gliding up to his nose where she placed a small 'boop' on it's tip. A loving sigh escaped her lips before she spoke.

"Never," She replied sweetly as she paused her tracing to look him in the eyes. Priscilla couldn't help but answer his joke of a question with sincerity, even though Reiner knew exactly what her answer was, "I could do it forever."

Reiner didn't really get how someone like her could make such a claim about him. The man pondered it more as her elegant fingers returned to their gentle journey across his facial features, following the same pattern as she did each time she returned to her starting point on his brow. It was another one of those simple little acts that left him with no weight on his shoulders to worry about – just that question in his mind of how she could just keep her eyes glued to him and be happy just by doing that. As her fingers continuously moved around and he looked into her ever-lovestruck eyes, he knew that if she were to ask him the same question he would say the same thing without hesitation. Reiner could never get tired of looking at her, or hearing her or just being with her.

Yet still, he struggled to understand how _she_ could, but she was laying there in front of him proving it right now. That look in her eyes was unlike one she'd give to anyone else, the look that said 'it's you, you're the one, just getting to sit here and stare at you is wonderful.' He didn't want to get into talking or even thinking about how undeserving of her love and attention he was, so instead he chose to anchor himself to that moment they were having and accept the truth laid out before him, the truth that had always been there but that he struggled to acknowledge. If Reiner could fight off his self doubt for just a while, that would be enough of a relief for him for now. He had hope that one day he could escape this insecurity he still held inside of him, but to ignore it for just this night would do until that time finally came. It was part of that dream of their perfect future together...

"Are you sleepy?" Priss asked, pulling her hand back with the worry she might be bothering him with her touching, "You look like you're drifting off."

"I was... just kind of zoning out... getting a bit lost in the nice view I have on my end, you know?" He replied with a grin, but even that smile couldn't hide the weariness in his golden eyes. Priscilla was the most recent one between them who got to sleep so it was reasonable that he might be needing rest at this point.

"Still doing a bit of flirting even though you already got the girl..." She said with a snicker and biting softly into her lower lip. Reiner reached over and placed his hand on her cheek.

"Hah, why would I ever want to stop doing that?" He asked, matching her amusement – at this point it was getting tough to keep their voices as quiet as they should, "I just can't help myself."

"Neither can I..." Her voice trailed off back into a dreamy murmur, "But really, if you want to go to sleep, don't force yourself to stay awake just because I'm not tired yet."

"Not tired yet..." Reiner repeated her words and his eyes glinted with something mischievous behind the evident sleepiness, "Maybe there's something we can do to wear you out a bit..."

She smiled softly at him and shook her head, "I can literally see in your eyes how much you want to sleep, Reiner."

"That's true but... like I said before," He whispered as he leaned in closer to her, "I just can't help myself."

"Well..." She replied, "If you insist... I think I have an idea of what we could do actually that would work."

"What is that?" Reiner asked curiously, but she was already on the move having sat up and let the thin blanket covering her slip down.

She looked down to him and smiled as she gave her first instruction, "Just roll onto your back..."

Reiner did as he was told and shifted onto his back, and while he did he saw her slip out of her panties and set them aside leaving her fully nude. He didn't know what Priss had planned but he trusted her – the way she started to situate herself made him think she was going to go for a ride on his dick, but as she straddled him she started moving her further up, inching forward until her thighs were on either side of his head. Reiner had his breath held the entire time she was making her slow moves, he was simply overcome with a mixture of apprehension and excitement.

"I'm just gonna be honest with you, and if you don't like the sound of this then stop me right now," She began, "I'm gonna ride your face, it's just like you regularly eating me out but just a different position..."

"Yes!" Reiner abruptly interjected into her explanation, not even caring if he sounded over eager. What would that matter anyway?

Her lips curled into a content smile, "Just give my thigh a tap if you need air then. Don't want to suffocate you and all."

"Heh, I can think of worse ways to die," He said with a smirk.

"Well let's hope it doesn't come to that..." She replied, suppressing a laugh at his absurd remark, "Just lay back and work your magic with that mouth of yours."

With all the prefacing done, Priscilla carefully moved those last few inches forward and carefully held herself over Reiner's mouth where he had full access to her clit and pussy to do as he pleased – and what he 'pleased' was to get to licking at her right away. They both equally missed the sensation of his mouth being buried between her legs.

At first she was still while she took in the feeling of his tongue making it's way up her slit and to her clit, which always elicited a shiver from her – but this time she noticed something different. When he started 'low' at the bottom of her slit, it put his nose right near her clit, and it dragged up against it as he went about this action. It added an extra layer to the hotness of the situation, even though she wouldn't get to enjoy the feeling of his great nose nudging against her sensitive spot when he focused his mouth on her clit, but for now as he performed the 'start at the bottom, make way to the top' she got to relish in his nose nudge up against her clit – the combination of his nose dragging against it and being 'finished off' by his tongue flicking against her clit was quite the sensation; it made her gasp and shiver each time he did it. Sure, doing stuff with the vagina hole itself wasn't even close to a priority when it came to orally pleasuring a woman, but now that she realized his big, beautiful nose could play a part in it... well, this just meant licking the pussy entrance from the right position had more relevance than just to help get things wet down there – not that she ever really had trouble getting wet for Reiner on her own.

Suddenly she felt a tap on her thigh and quickly pulled herself away enough for him to speak, "Something wrong?" She asked.

"You were making weird gasping noises, like you were having trouble breathing," Reiner informed her, "I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

"Oh, oh god yeah I was more than ok!" She excitedly assured him, "I guess I didn't really realize what I was doing or anything... but trust me, I was enjoying myself. I'd let you know if I wasn't, I promise. But let me tell you, that nose... it does more than look good."

"Huh? What do you mean?" An absolutely puzzled Reiner asked.

"I'll explain later, but trust me you're doing nothing wrong," She said, flashing him a smile.

"Heh, right then..." He replied, with a grin of his own – relieved everything was still going smoothly.

And with that, she lowered herself back onto his face so he could continue to pleasure her. Priscilla figured she'd detail the whole nose thing to him another time and just let him continue to dictate things for now before she took any of her own actions. She just sat still and let her head fall backwards as her eyes closed, enjoying the sensation his tongue and lips were offering her without her even needing to move. Her breathing was heavy but she managed to keep her moaning to a minimum, it was actually Reiner who seemed to be making more noise as he went to town down there on her, sounding like he was satisfying a hunger he'd been starved of for weeks, which in itself was sending her into and even more aroused state.

He was down there, eating pussy, and loving every second of it. With knowing he was doing something different, although he didn't know what, he became extremely overcome with wanting to keep pleasing his woman. There came a point where he let out a loud grunt and grabbed her ass with both hands tightly and pulled her against his face even harder in his unbridled excitement to give her pleasure, causing Priss to gasp a bit in surprise.

Reiner pulled himself back for just a second to hurriedly mumble, "Sorry!" before he dove back in to feast with vigor, having changed from his drag and flick to all out just sloppily licking and sucking all around without much thought for technique. When he got over excited he could end up doing things like that; losing control unexpectedly, but not in a violent or inappropriate way of course, but to out of nowhere grab her butt and shove her pussy into his face even more? She didn't expect that, especially not when she was getting lost in the moment prior. Thinking about it got her breathing even heavier and getting dangerously noisy, but she (and surely Reiner too) had hit that point where they did not give even a fraction of a shit that they may wake up the person sleeping – that concern was completely gone from their minds.

In a moment of lucidity, she looked over her shoulder to see his erection wanting to be freed from his underwear and taken care of, but Reiner's hands were firmly planted on her butt and she didn't quite have the dexterity to twist her back to an unrealistic degree, get his dick out and start stroking it, so Priscilla chose to let them cross that bridge when they got to it. For all she knew he wanted to stick it in her once he got her off with his mouth, but it was far more likely he wasn't thinking about much of anything that wasn't right in front of his face in that moment... literally.

Reiner went back to the dragging method after his moment of being in a frenzy. Each time he finished his upwards-dragging motion she twitched with pleasure, and Reiner could easily feel her thighs tighten around his head as she did which only fueled him further. He knew very well how delicate her skin was and eased up on how hard he was digging his fingers into her plump ass at that point – he'd regained a bit more composure by then. Reiner looked up and got a sweet view of her tits from below where he could see them heaving from her intense breathing, and then as if she knew he had looked up her way, Priscilla looked down to him. His eyes went from her breasts to her face instantly and even in the poor lighting of the room he could see the redness in her face and lust filled eyes.

Reiner's attention fully shifted to her clit itself and his hands were on the move as well: one gripping her thigh and the other supporting her lower back, just in case. Reiner didn't want Priss to end up with any soreness in her back in case this went on for a while. He licked at her slowly and methodically, switching between applying more and less pressure. Every time he did something to her clit, it made her twitch even harder than before with pleasure since she was on her sure but steady climb – he knew how to treat her just right and _god_ did it make him want to blow his own load just watching her make her climb to the peak of her climax, especially considering she was pretty much in a constant state of twitching and moaning at this point now that he was fully focused on that spot. There was something uniquely beautiful about watching her in ecstasy, especially since it involved him being the source of it; it was thrilling to be able to send a goddess or angel into the throes of pleasure and to see her like that. He couldn't, and frankly didn't ever want to, imagine seeing anyone else like that.

When he switched to suckling on her clit he heard her inhale sharply and then release a loud moan. It was then that her body instinctively started to take part with her hips starting a back and forth grinding motion against his face. Her thoughts were completely overtaken by love and lust to the point that her body seemed to be sprinting towards it's primal goal to reach it's climax, and Reiner was right on that page with her. Both his hands went to hold onto her by the thighs as he vigorously swapped around between licking in different patterns and just sucking on her while she grinded into his face – all the while he was moaning into her and she was letting out little whimpers, gasps and moans of her own as she felt her orgasm about to hit any second.

Priscilla hunched forward and her hands pressed hard against the wall in front of her, that familiar look on her face was enough of a clue to let Reiner know he was about to push her over the edge. He could hear her whisper 'yes' and other words of encouragement, along with his name, so Reiner kept at it – licking and sucking her until her eyes shot open with a shuddering gasp and her thighs clenched together tighter than before. Her body shivered several times in time with her hips still grinding against his face, the face she maintained eye contact with as she came. Reiner gave her clit a few last gentle and loving laps before she backed off and plopped down to the side of him, left panting from her orgasm.

Reiner quickly sat up and inhaled deeply; he didn't take much opportunity to 'come up for air' significantly – he was too engrossed in eating her out to even care; The instances he got to take a breath without needing to ask her to pull away were enough. He looked down to his queen who was laying on her side with a loving and _very_ satisfied smile spread across her face.

"So you said you'd explain once we were done?" He asked after some deep breaths, "The nose thing?"

"Ahah... yeah that..." She laughed lightly, "I noticed your nose drag up against my clit when you did the thing where you start licking low and move your way up. The bump on your nose followed by the bridge, and then finishing with the tongue flick? Oh _god_ you are blessed with that nose of yours. I never imagined it'd serve a purpose other than looking good... uh, and breathing, obviously."

This sent Reiner into a stifled fit of laughter that he struggled to keep at a polite volume – he was back in the mindset of trying to be quiet again, but he couldn't really help himself when Priss came out with such a silly statement like she just did. He knew well at this point that she loved his nose, and everything about him, but mentioning that it turned out to be useful for a very specific sexual purpose was amazing to him (and something he'd have to remember in the future).

"So, is it a throne fit for a queen?" He joked.

Priscilla laughed and nodded, but it was evident she was quite tired now – the thrill of an orgasm could sometimes leave her feeling sleepy, wanting to nap – or just laying down at the very least. Sometimes she could go round after round, but that time she was hit with the post-climax desire to relax, but she was concerned with the fact that Reiner still hadn't been taken care of. His excitement from their activity had clearly given him a bit of an energy boost, considering he was sitting straight up and at attention, but now he was the one in the position to not want to have his lover exert too much energy for his sake. Once he himself got to cum, he was sure he'd be down for the count, but they had to get that done first. Reiner was never demanding of Priscilla, especially when it came to sex. The boldest and closest thing to a 'demand' he ever made was whispering for her to cum for him that one time, which wasn't about him exerting his power over her, but his desire to titillate and thrill _her._ He wasn't making demands of her there, in fact he felt very nervous about saying those words to her at the time. He worried he was gonna sound so stupid or that she might even laugh at him... but no, it all turned out fine. It turned out perfectly, even. Who else would she be cumming for anyway?

His throbbing hardon was becoming a bit of a nuisance though and he needed to figure out what to do about it, little did he know though that Priscilla's mind was hard at work making a decision about how to drain his balls too.

"You look like you've got a second wind," She commented with a chuckle, taking notice of his alert expression.

"Hah, for the moment yeah..." He confirmed, "But now you're the one looking tired."

"It's ok, I have an idea of how we can take care of you..." She whispered tantalizingly.

Still laying, her hands drifted up to her breasts which she grabbed and started to massage as she stared at him with her seductive gaze. Reiner's eyes were locked on her fondling her tits even though he had no idea where it would lead them, but it still made his cock twitch to watch her play with herself like that – it was like he was being hypnotized by her squeezing and moving her ample breasts around, only to be broken out of it by her calling his name invitingly

"Hey, Reiner... I know you think about _these_ ," On that last word she squeezed her tits harder and pushed them up to further entice him, "a lot, right? You like to look at them, you like to touch them, put your mouth on them... Did it ever occur to you that you could 'fuck' them too?"

Reiner had been following her all the way through to the last part – she was making some real obvious statements and then all of a sudden she throws a curve ball at him that he didn't expect. She kept at her fondling, as if he needed any further enticement from her, and it was written all over his face that he wanted to know more, leading him to awkwardly and loudly blurting out:

"I can _**WHAT?**_ "

Priscilla nodded with that familiar devious smile of hers, feeling so gleeful that she was about to show him the wonderful act of tiddyfucking.

"It's easy," She began her explanation by rolling onto her back and motioning for him to come to her, "You just straddle me on my stomach area... and you... you shove your cock between my tits and... I think you get the picture, yeah?"

Reiner was nodding along rapidly as she gave her quick and dirty rundown of this, all the while trying to get out of his underwear so his dick could be properly free to enter the land of the amazing chest that laid ahead. Priscilla quietly giggled to herself at his awkward and excited struggling while she waited for him to get it together – eventually he succeeded in his task of stripping away the last remaining bit of his clothing and crawled, carefully of course, on top of her where he positioned himself on her stomach with his thighs on either side of her, without putting his weight on her of course.

"Oh, we gotta make sure things are nice and wet first..." She added, sitting up as much as she could to get a nice face full of his dick, "Give it here a minute!"

It was an awkward stretch of an angle for sure, but she needed to get him nice and slick. His length allowed her to get some of his hard cock into her mouth which she did her best to suck on. Reiner did some slow pushes into her mouth to give her a bit of help; he was careful not to push his hips too far forward or go too quickly and potentially hurt her – he had to keep it cool for now because he knew he was gonna lose his mind when this whole tiddyfucking thing started. He would ease up and pull back a bit every so often, keeping it slow and steady so she could mostly stay on top of how much of him she was taking into her mouth.

It didn't take all that long for her to be salivating on him so much that the excess was dripping out of the corners of her mouth and onto herself – this seemed like as good of a time as any, so she pulled her head back with a gasp, spat out what was left in her mouth to rub on his dick and nodded at him. However, Reiner did not jump straight to the tits, instead he clumsily fell forward and just started to kiss the hell out of her. It took her by surprise, but she quickly adapted by grasping him by his hair to pull him into the kiss harder. It was passionate, it was sloppy, it was wet – yet at the same time tender as they moaned into each other's mouths and held onto each other's faces like their lives depended on it.

"Ah..." Reiner breathed as he reluctantly pulled away from the intense kiss, "I just- I just really felt like doing that first."

"That's fine with me!" Priss responded breathlessly with a huge smile, "I won't ever stop you if you want to kiss me."

"It's not even that I want to, but I _need_ to..." Reiner spoke, "I can't live without the taste of your lips or the touch of your skin or the sound of your voice... To say I want you doesn't do my feelings justice, because to just want something or someone means you can go on with your life fine without having them... But you? _I absolutely... without a doubt... need you._ "

Priscilla was stunned by Reiner's sudden and intense proclamation – not that it was out of character, but the timing is what made it a bit unexpected. She stared up at him totally doe-eyed and feeling like she couldn't breathe anymore; she wanted to choke out the same words back at him but she was so scatterbrained now that her ability to form words was hindered. Reiner could see her mind trying to formulate a response and he smiled down at her warmly.

"It's ok, I know you're thinking the same thing," He whispered, "I remember when you said it back in Hyperia. In a situation just like this. You will always be the one that I want, but more importantly, you'll always be the one I need above all else."

"Reiner!" She all-out shouted with tears in her eyes now, but his name was the only word she could coherently get out in her sudden hysterics, "I! We are! Need! You me and! Love! I need! You me! And- and- and-!"

"Hey hey..." He said in a soothing tone. He also lowered his face so his forehead pressed against hers to try and calm her even more as he held the sides of her face, "Did I ruin the mood?"

He felt her shake her head beneath him and heard a little sniffle too, "No, not at all... I just didn't expect that right now. I loved it, really. I may be a little weepy but it's good. It's great."

"That's a relief..." Reiner murmured, then proceeded to pull back and give her a kiss on the forehead, "Was worried I may have made a mistake. I just can't help myself sometimes."

"I know," She laughed, "And you know I can't either. I love you, Reiner Braun."

"And I love you too, Priscilla Braun."

Hearing her name paired with his last name always made her want to scream with delight, but she managed to keep that inside by biting into her lower lip to keep from shouting out in ecstasy how great it made her feel. To already be called – and calling herself – Missus Priscilla Braun, or just Priss Braun, it just sounded _right_ to both of them. To call it a dream come true to hear their names combined like that would be an understatement.

Without words the two of them re-assumed the position where Reiner was straddling her stomach. He looked down, seeing his cock just laying between her breasts which she slowly grabbed and squeezed around him. A shiver ran down his spine and his balls throbbed when he felt the soft warmth of them envelop his cock, and while it was different than sex, his body knew exactly what to do: thrust his hips back and forth as if it _were_ intercourse, the word 'fuck' was in 'tiddyfuck' after all. It was a different feeling versus smashing her pussy, but it was still a great one. The warm, wet, super tight all-consuming sensation of sex wasn't there, but she had more control over the squeezing she could do versus how she could sometimes contract her strong pussy muscles around his cock but it was often a more random occurrence that she didn't dictate at will. In short, this was a fantastic activity in it's own unique way.

Her silky soft skin against his cock felt amazing and the way she moved around her tits as he slide himself between them had him aching to cum, but he didn't want to yet – and the fact that he was already ready to bust from having his face buried deep between her legs wasn't helping him pace himself. He moved his hands to be on top of hers so he could play with her nipples a bit, if he could manage to keep coordinated enough to do that – he doubted once he got closer to his climax he'd be able to keep that up, so he assisted in the fondling while he still could. She let out a long moan when he started to play with her, but as he predicted, his coordination was slipping the longer this went on. There was still some slickness present, but Priscilla had also managed to work up a sweat in that stuffy room so that was helping keep things somewhat wet too; Reiner was positive he'd reach his orgasm before anything dried up anyway.

Priscilla then opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue to have a go at tapping and licking the head of his dick with when he thrust it forwards towards her. He started to imagine how this would end, but he worried if he started thinking too far ahead things would be over even quicker. Reiner even went as far as to close his eyes for a bit, because the sight of her was just so thrilling that it was overwhelming, but even behind his closed lids he could still see her clear as day – she was simply inescapable. He could also still very much hear her and feel her – the sensation of her breasts smothering his impressive cock and her tongue lapping against it's head at steady intervals while she breathed her hot and heavy breath onto it as well.

Reiner opened his eyes again and moved his hands to hold her by the face as he started to make his final push – and she knew that was his goal now with his sudden increase in pace. She shoved her tits together as hard as she could while he thrust faster and faster. Once she heard him start to let out a low groaning noise she made sure to keep her mouth open, and soon enough he let out a full moan as ropes of his cum shot out onto her – some landing on her face, some in her mouth. With his nut successfully busted, his second wind was officially spent – but before he flopped down on the bed next to her, he noticed something.

"Oh shit..." He mumbled, seeing a few drops of his cum having landed what had to be uncomfortably close to one of her eyes, "S-Sorry about that..."

He thumbed it away carefully, but before he could wipe it away onto the sheets or something, Priss grabbed his hand and went ahead and just licked it off of his thumb in one of the final showings of eroticism for the evening. She gave his hand a tight squeeze before letting him have it back to himself – Priss then had to do what she could to clean up what didn't land in her mouth, so while Reiner collapsed next to her she hastily wiped his cum from her face and simply licked it off her fingers, following that she just wiped her hands on the bed to get them dry.

Even though they didn't start their night by wearing much, the pair chose to ignore putting any clothes back on once their romp had come to an end. Once Priss was nice and cuddled up next to him, Reiner pulled the sheet over them so they were covered in some way and then pulled her in close to him in his strong arms. Priscilla nuzzled her face into his neck and hummed softly against it which made a tired smile appear on Reiner's face as he felt himself start to slip away into slumber. He wanted to keep holding onto her tightly through the night, but Reiner was aware that once he was sleeping he wouldn't be able to control how hard he got to hold her anymore, which made him fight with his fatigue to stay awake just a bit longer.

"Sleep, Reiner..." He heard his lover coo soothingly as if she knew he were trying to stay awake just to keep a tight grasp on her, "I'll be with you there soon... but until then I'll stand guard to make sure you sleep soundly... and to just look at you some more too."

A weary chuckle escaped from him and he couldn't help but give her a good natured tease, "You really don't get tired of doing that, huh..." She turned her face to look up to him with a sweet smile.

"Why would I lie about that?" She teased back, but then her tone drifted into deep sincerity, "And besides that always being the truth... what better sight would there be for me to see as I drift off to sleep but you?"

Reiner's mixture of being rendered exhausted once more and being stupid in love left him without words for this, all he could manage was a dumb smile as he struggled to keep his eyes open. In his barely lucid state, he felt her hand touch his cheek as she whispered once more, "Sleep, my love... I know you need it."

Priscilla watched as Reiner's eyes slowly closed and how he seemed to slip off into the realm of sleep within moments, which she was pleased to see him do so easily. She didn't want to get her hopes up that she could fall asleep very soon after him, so she was content to lay there and study his features – more than content really, she loved to look at that man of hers. It reminded her of how she had not all that long ago started to imagine what their future child would look like – which parts of each of them their boy would end up with. She let her mind idly play the game of filling in what their son could eventually look like until enough time passed for her to slip into slumber too.

* * *

Anteros and Adrestia sat in their shared room, both on her bed, as she was reading out loud from a children's book while her loving older brother listened intently.

"You're doing such a wonderful job with your reading, Addie..." He complimented her as she paused to turn the page, "Learning so fast, just like your big brother."

"You help a lot," Adrestia insisted, looking up from her book and up to him, "I don't think I'd be smart without you teaching me things all the time..."

It was true that he spent as much of his time as he realistically could with her and assisting with her developmental milestones and education. To call him dedicated with how much work he put into raising his little sister would be underselling just how attentive he was – he easily was with her more than her own mother was, and he preferred it that way. Despite his obsession with being in her life as much as he could, he still wanted to believe she had a natural talent for learning like he did – which wasn't impossible, but his projection and intense hand in helping her learn made it so it was hard to tell where her natural development ended and his assistance really began.

"Ohh I think no matter what you would be a very smart girl, and very beautiful too," He said, "And it's not like I could teach you how to be beautiful, that's something you are all on your own..."

"Let me keep reading, Anteros!" She whined over his objectively strange digression before he could go on further, "The Prince is about to come save the Princess, it's the best part! Let me read!"

Before her brother could speak again a knock came on the door, followed by the jiggling of the doorknob – Anteros preferred it locked, and this only lead to louder knocking. His mood visibly shifted, seen in his posture and soured expression, from the caring older brother to irritated and somewhat sinister. He let out a deeply annoyed sigh as he rose from the bed to go address the situation.

"Forgive me, sweet Addie, but it seems I must go deal with mother and father..." He said darkly.

Adrestia, too young to pick up on his behavioral cues, simply nodded and went back to looking at her book and enjoying the brightly colored illustrations of the beautiful princess in a silver dress reaching out for the prince in his gilded and detailed armor. She was being dragged down by clawed hands that were composed of darkness that threatened to swallow her up while radiant golden light shined from behind the prince to pierce through it and save her. Adrestia simply couldn't wait and continued to quietly read out loud to herself while Anteros went over to their bedroom door to see what their parents wanted.

 _The Price exclaimed, "There is no greater sorrow, no greater hardship, than to live without you, my love! This is why I've fought through untold dangers, there is nothing in this depraved world that could ever stop me from protecting you, not even the devil himself!"_

"What is it?" Anteros sneered after he reluctantly unlocked the door and cracked it open just enough to glare at his father. His mother stood behind the father, looking meek as always.

"Adrestia should have been asleep over an hour ago," Their father said sternly, "Why are you keeping her awake?"

"You kept me busier than usual today, father, she and I _both_ wanted to make up for the time you stole from us," Anteros replied venomously, " _I_ will make sure she gets a proper amount of sleep and wakes up at a decent time as well."

" _Oh, my dearest!" The Princess shouted to her brave hero, "I knew you would come for me, I never lost faith!"_

Their father narrowed his eyes at Anteros through the small crack in the door they could just barely see each other through, "What right do you have, Anteros? To keep our girl from us? To disrespect your own parents?"

"I've been dutifully tutoring her, you know. She's made amazing strides with her reading and language skills..." Anteros more or less ignored his father's questions, "I do not like her learning the Eldian language being mandatory though, for what purpose do any of us need to be speaking the devil's tongue anyway?"

 _And so, without any fear, the Prince pulled the Princess from the evil pits of Hell that coveted her light. He held a golden lance in his free hand, and he threw it into the dark to banish it as he pulled the Princess onto the winged horse he rode. The two of them escaped upon it and went on to live happily ever after._

"Let us in, Anteros," The father commanded, "Your mother wants to say good night to her daughter."

Anteros let out a loud bark of laughter, "Oh! Does she now? ...Well, I'm not feeling in a generous mood so she's out of luck. Leave us now."

Anteros swiftly slammed the door shut and locked it before his father could take action against him; Anteros didn't immediately return to his sister though, he stood by the door for a few moments and listened with a grin as he heard his mother begin to weep, followed by consoling words from his father that grew more and more distant, indicating they had given up and were walking away.

"It's simply amazing..." He uttered to himself as he stared forward at nothing in particular, "How the water of that simpering woman's womb managed to birth the two of us. Us beings of such great importance and power when she is plain and nothing. We truly are... the Blessings from God... There's no other explanation for why we are what we are, I'm sure of this... And all the rest of those ingrates who I believe to be no more than wastes of oxygen and resources... Oh they're all so _weak_. So _useless_. I can just sense you and I are far above them all, Addie, and I refuse to let anyone else-"

"I finished!" Adrestia piped up happily to get his attention back to her, unintentionally interrupting his quiet rant. He whipped his head around to see her with the closed book in her lap looking very giddy – the child clearly had no idea or understanding of what had been going on, she was too busy lost in her fantasy picture book to even pay attention to the tense and hushed exchange happening between the other members of her family.

Anteros was initially irritated that she interrupted him, but he rationalized that she didn't know he was speaking given how it was a monologue in a low voice that was directed just at himself, a rationalization that allowed him to stay calm and not lash out at his precious child sister. He then started to make his way back to her with a kind smile, moving towards her nightstand and picking up a hair brush.

"Why don't I brush your hair a bit?" He offered as he sat back down next to her.

"I am getting sleepy, so yes please!" She excitedly replied.

Anteros then pulled his young sister onto his lap, but he set the brush to the side first. Brushing her hair lightly was part of their bed time ritual – Anteros loved brushing her hair, and Adrestia did as well. He started by looking for any knots in her hair to work out gently with his slender fingers first before just trying to run a brush through it – if it were to get stuck on a potential knot then it'd be more painful for her than if he just manually worked them out with his hands first. Fortunately, her hair wasn't very prone to knotting given how straight and smooth it was, but he couldn't help but check anyway.

"Ah, just a little one on the end here..." She heard him say and then felt him carefully work through the knot.

Adrestia did her best not to fidget during this process since it wasn't entirely without some discomfort, but it was over soon enough and Anteros picked up the brush and started slowly running it through her silky hair. He smiled as the brush effortlessly glided through it – for her hair to always be so lovely without much work was a point of pride for him. He didn't spend long on brushing before moving onto the next step, which was optional, but he decided he wanted to do it tonight. He stretched himself over to the bedside table again and grabbed for a hair tie.

"Braid?" Adrestia asked curiously.

"Yes, I want you to have a braid tonight..." Anteros confirmed flatly.

His fingers then got to work weaving through her sleek locks and creating a braided style that wasn't too tight – he kept it loose to avoid stressing her hair but doing this would also lessen the need to de-tangle in the morning, plus he enjoyed seeing her hair braided and to be the one to do it made it even better; he never liked it when their mother would braid her hair, Anteros always thought she did a terrible job of it compared to the different braids he'd give Adrestia based on the situation. Once he finished his task, he tied it up at the end and rested his hands on her shoulders.

"All done?" She asked.

"Yes, Addie, we're done..." He responded quietly, "Time for my sweet princess to head off to sleep."

* * *

Priscilla had awoken in the night, unable to tell how long she actually got to sleep for, and her head was aching terribly and her stomach was churning. She took a quick glance at Reiner, who still had his arm draped across her, and he was sound asleep still. Priss got a moment of feeling good seeing that he was smiling slightly in his sleep.

 _Wonder if he's having a good dream?_ She thought.

Sadly her ill feelings took hold over her again after his smile soothed her for a fleeting moment. She was at a bit of a loss of what to do so she chose to keep laying there and try to ignore her aching head and stomach while trying to just get back to sleep and hope it passes. When she closed her eyes her lids soon scrunched tightly shut and her brow furrow – it was difficult to just peacefully close them in an attempt to relax with how she was feeling. Her heavy eyelids slowly opened after she fought her losing battle with going back to sleep for a while and she sharply exhaled through her nose.

"What can I do..." She whispered, straining to think through the painful fog she was caught in.

Then, it came to her. The moon.

Priss looked back over to Reiner and gave him a light peck on the lips and murmured 'be back soon' before she carefully slid out from under his arm and got out of bed to go on her quest for lunar healing. She ignored her clothes and proceeded out without getting dressed at all – Reiner's warnings about the strange men were completely gone from her aching head and she just didn't count on running into anyone, which was a foolish gamble to make. Staying nude was also growing into more and more of a powerful inner urge within her, conscious or not.

The internal layout of the ship was a bit confusing, but she had a good idea of how to tackle this: just head up. It wasn't like trying to find the deck was as complicated as delving down to find some inner structure. See some stairs heading upwards? Take them, she was sure she'd eventually get to where she was going with that idea.

And surely enough she did.

She slowly emerged onto the deck of the large ship and saw the moon shining brightly in a cloudless sky. It was like it was waiting for her to show up and seek out it's aid, but she knew better and it was that luck just happened to be on her side that night with the weather. Still, the soothing light of the moon beckoned her out of the shadows and her feet brought her to the bow of the ship where she placed her hands on the cold metal guard rails that lined the edge.

The moment the lunar light had touched her she had started to feel her unpleasant feelings melt away, and the longer she stayed in the presence of these moon beams, the better she felt. Priscilla let out a sigh of relief – she was glad that her issues could be remedied so easily, but the source of these problems was a mystery that should be concerning to her, but in that moment all she could do was relish with how great she felt to be alleviated.

"Oi, girl, what are you doing up here?"

Priscilla froze and her posture stiffened, almost to the point of being painful, when she heard the accusatory voice behind her. She slowly turned her head and saw two night guards standing about ten feet from her. Either they were quiet as hell or she was too caught up in her own feelings to notice their approach, the answer could easily be a bit of both, but now she found herself in a troubling situation.

When she didn't answer and merely gawked at them, it prompted them to start moving closer and the guard repeated his question, but with added aggression, "Didn't you hear what I said? What the _hell_ are you doing here, girl?"


End file.
